Louis Robles has an exciting new challenge on his hands, in leaving Bala the forward finds himself suiting up at Park Hall in the green and white of The New Saints, and the journey here has been quite some story.
A Liverpudlian by birth, the 23-year-old starred in the Reds academy for ten years playing alongside and against some of the top young talents in world football.
It was a time that took Robles across the world, playing in international tournaments against the likes of Real Madrid, Juventus and Bayern Munich to name just a few.
And it is a time that boasts strong emotions when the forward reminisces on his youth career.
“There were so many positive memories from playing in Liverpool’s academy,” Robles said.
Embed from Getty Images“I think I played around 10 seasons there from the Under-9’s side. The amount of away tours we did, we went to the Swiss Cup, did Qatar twice, New York, it really does take you to international places.
“When we played Real Madrid in the Marveld tournament in Holland a boy called José Pozo got player of the tournament and he was a top player.
“He went on to sign on for Manchester City and he’s played in the Spanish leagues ever since.
“In terms of locally we were up against Scott McTominay every year from under-9’s.
“We used to know him inside out and used to call him ‘Little Scottie’ because of how small he was back then. If you see the size of him now, it’s crazy how much he changed.
“There was also Jérémie Boga at Chelsea who was probably the best in the country I think a lot of people would say for our age, he was a crazy talent who is now playing in the Serie A.
“Brandon Barker went on to do good things, Patrick Roberts, these are all players that stood out from knowing the circuit over the years.
“We had a very talented side too, probably one of the best age groups at the club at the time.
“The front three for many years was me, Ryan Kent and Harry Wilson which isn’t bad company to be in.
“Just behind us was Jordan Rossiter who was in the number eight position, in goals was Andy Firth who’s at Rangers, Sam Hart at left-back, Matthew Virtue who’s at Blackpool.
“It was stacked with players who are making careers in the game now.”
Leaving Liverpool and Wigan Athletic
Eventually becoming frustrated with factors at Liverpool, Robles made the decision to move on from his hometown club and join the academy set-up at Wigan Athletic.
Back in-form and playing regularly, the now 23-year-old earned himself a starting spot in the senior squad on May 2nd, 2015.
And whilst he admits that leaving Liverpool was the rash decision to make, Robles still feels it was the right one to make.
“Looking back in hindsight it wasn’t a tough decision to leave,” he continued.
“I was getting really frustrated at that time in my career so it was a rash decision, I did make it instantly, but I think it was a decision that I had to make.
Embed from Getty Images“With the age I was at I felt it was time for me to move on and thankfully it worked out at Wigan that way.
“At that time, making my debut for Wigan really was a special moment.
“I still have my shirt hung in my room and the photos underneath, so I see it every day and it reminds me about that time, so I was really excited with that.
“Playing in the Championship at 18 was a massive moment for me, more than anything else because it proved my decision right in leaving Liverpool in a sense.
“I think at that time one or two, or not many made senior appearances for a club at that point, so I think was one of if not the first one.”
Spanish Adventure
Once leaving Wigan, an unlikely opportunity quickly materialised that was too good to turn down for the TNS forward.
A chance to play in Spain for Atlético Baleares saw Robles heading straight to the side pushing for promotion to the Segunda División.
It was another experience that the former Wigan startlet found surreal.
“I have a couple of friends who have played out in Spain, I got speaking to them and through their agent they became interested in me,” he said.
“The opportunity to go to Atlético Baleares arose from that. I didn’t know the club at the time but when I got there, I soon realised how big of a club it is.
“They are Majorca’s derby rivals and the manager at the time was Christian Ziege, it was a massive club who were pushing for promotion to the Segunda.
“When I got there, the first game was against Barcelona B at home, so it was quite surreal, everything happened in such a short space of time.
“I got a message one day and then the next morning I had to be on the island, so it did happen very quickly, but it was a big experience.
“I learned so much out there about different styles of play, different cultures, ways of living and playing football, it was really eye opening for me.
TNS And Europe Challenge
Now back home and playing in the Welsh Leagues, Robles wants to make his mark back in the UK, with the opportunity to be close to friends and family one that he was grateful for.
With his new side facing an upcoming European fixture against MŠK Žilina in the Europa League qualifiers, the challenge ahead is one that Robles relishes.
Now playing under Scott Ruscoe, the froward can’t wait to hit the ground at his new side and spoke on the difficult task their European opposition will present.
“I think last year playing against The New Saints on a couple of occasions, you can see their style of play and how attractive it is, and I thought it was one that would suit me,” Robles remarked.
“The minute I got the interest I knew it was an opportunity too good to turn down. I’m really looking forward to getting to play under Scott Ruscoe.
“I’ve been scanning MŠK Žilina results; I think they’re two or three matches into their league campaign but again it’s one that’s difficult to gauge because we don’t know too much about the Slovakian League.
“We know it’s competitive, but we don’t know exactly what it’s like or their style of play.
“We’ll keep an eye on their results and see which players are involved and that’s how we can get a gauge of what we can expect come Thursday.
“It’s not ideal with the circumstances of lockdown but we’ve had some really good fixtures so far, we’ve definitely got perfect preparation or as good as we can possibly have.
“I think we’ll be more than ready for when the time comes”
(Featured Image: Lewis Mitchell)
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