Stoke’s Tyrese Campbell on leaving Man City, fulfilling his father’s legacy and the Championship’s return

Exclusive: England U20 striker left City’s academy aged 16 to fast-track his route to first-team football

Tyrese Campbell has signed a new long-term contract at Stoke City (Getty)

For Tyrese Campbell, the missing ingredient was “honesty”. Within the glamorous confines of Manchester City’s academy, he had established himself as one of England’s most prolific teenage strikers, scoring 49 goals in a season, and represented England U17s. Then, with a lucrative professional contract and gateway to the pinnacle of English football on offer, he did something nobody quite expected: he left.

“Nobody had done that at City at that age before,” he tells The Independent. “Players might have dropped it in to get a better deal, but I don’t think the staff ever took it seriously that I would leave. People said it was a brave move – I know it was – but you’ve got to look at your career. It’s a brilliant club with the power to buy the best players in the world, but unless you’re a readymade superstar, it’s hard to get that fair chance.”

It’s not often said that a player was seduced by Stoke City. Yet, despite offers from several top clubs in England and abroad, Campbell was persuaded by the clearest pathway to first-team football. Yes, there may not have been a hotel on the training ground, an infinity pool of green grass or the lure of the Champions League, “but at the end of the day, it’s about football, and it doesn’t matter how many pitches there are.”

Four years later, it’s a decision that has been vindicated. Prior to the lockdown, Campbell had started four of Stoke’s last five games, scored twice, and begun to embody the club’s resurgence under Michael O’Neill after a disastrous start to the season, shedding the long-ball cliche that defined their Premier League era. In all, Campbell has made over 50 senior appearances – four of which came in the Premier League – despite having only turned 20 last December.

“I hope I opened other players eyes to seeing the opportunities that are out there,” he says. “If you look at [Jadon] Sancho now, he’s smashing it, and if he’d stayed at City I don’t think he’d have got that chance to express himself. He was always an unbelievable player. Phil [Foden] is absolutely brilliant and he should be a first-team player now. I was fed up with hearing stuff I didn’t think was going to happen. At that age, you need experience and I needed to be playing.”

Tyrese Campbell comes up against former side Man City in the FA Youth Cup (Getty)

By Campbell’s own admission, being thrust into senior football – out of a safety net and into the unknown – wasn’t always seamless. At first, he admits, the quality and intensity was “mind-blowing”, beyond anything he’d ever imagined, and laughs at the memory of making his Premier League debut against Leicester City shortly after his 18th birthday. “The first time the ball came into me, I went to pass it and I looked down and [Wilfred] Ndidi had already taken it off my toes,” he laughs. “I just thought ‘what’s going on here?’ I had Harry Maguire and Wes Morgan on me. I think it was the hardest half an hour of football of my life. When I came off, I couldn’t breathe.

“When you come into the league, you’re used to scoring at youth level and, if it doesn’t happen, sometimes it’s hard to get your head around. It’s not nice to get stick and you can be quite disheartened by it, but if you let it get to your head that’s when you fail. It took me a bit of time to adapt and that’s normal. It’s just about working hard to show you deserve to be there.”

The determination to “belong” has been the torch that’s lit Campbell’s career. The pressure inherited by birthright as the son of a successful footballer – former Arsenal and Everton striker, Kevin – and a reputation and legacy against which he’s constantly measured. “It was a regular thing when I was younger, people testing you to check if you’ve got it in you [because of who your dad is],” he says. “Throughout football, people will always say: ‘will you be better than your dad? Will you have a career like him?’ That’s always driven me to prove myself.”

While he’s quietly aware of the weight of expectation, he stresses that any pressure is fuel of his own design. “My dad sits back and lets me get on with it,” he says. “He always said it’s my own career and that if I need advice, he’ll give it to me. If I’ve had a bad game, he’ll tell me, and I appreciate having that honest relationship with him. If anything, [the pressure] comes from me wanting to be like him and make him proud”.

Tyrese Campbell scores for Stoke against Huddersfield (Getty)

In January, Campbell’s career came to a premature full-circle, again matching the value of honesty against the patience to succeed. With less than six months remaining on his contract, Bournemouth, Celtic and Rangers were among the clubs hoping to convince him of a move that, at least on the surface, might have seemed more attractive. But, ultimately, after a long period of deliberation, the clarity and loyalty offered by Stoke convinced him to sign a new four-and-a-half-year contract.

“It was about the manager keeping his word,” Campbell says. “There’s not a player on Earth who wouldn’t prefer his manager to tell him the truth. He said to me: if I stay, I’ll get minutes. I hadn’t signed and he could’ve taken me out of the team, but he didn’t. He trusted in me and that’s the main reason why I wanted to stay at Stoke. Any player wants to play at the top level as quickly as possible, but you’ve got to believe in your ability [to get there at the right time].

With 11 games of the Championship season to play and Stoke just two points clear of the relegation zone, that debt will need to be called into action quickly. The shock of O’Neill’s positive coronavirus test moments before a friendly against Manchester United last week unsettled preparations. “We were in a [bio-secure] dome at United’s training ground getting ready when the doctor came in and told us. We had tests the next Monday and Thursday – you initially have the worry in the back of your head, your thoughts are with them and everyone has family back home, but after the results came back negative your mind is at ease. Obviously everyone is even more aware of the situation now and being extra careful, but training-wise we’ve been at it and look in good shape.”

Campbell is certain that Stoke, finally, has the fire and talent to rise again and hopes to be a focal point in that revival. It’s a heavy burden on young shoulders, but one he’s relishing being able to embrace with a clear head.

“We have more than enough quality to keep us in the league this season,” he says. “Then, next year, we want to push for the playoffs.”