He’s had to wait for his chance, but Victor Dielunvuidi is making the most of it as the EFL Youth Alliance season comes to a close.
The utility player has featured in the last few youth team games, having joined the club in the summer but being unable to feature due to international clearance issues.
Now out on the pitch, Victor’s looking to make the most of his time in a Latics shirt.
“I started playing football fairly late on compared to everyone else, I started at grassroots at the age of 12 or 13.
“I played for a few local teams in my local area at that level, before I saw the advert for trials at Oldham.
“I thought ‘why not give it a try’, I came down and was accepted”
“Joining Oldham was an amazing feeling, it’s my first academy team and I’m really enjoying it.”
“At first it was a little bit difficult because I didn’t really know anyone, I was a tad quiet, and all the new lads were a bit shy.
“It took me a while to get to know everyone, but once I did I was comfortable and everyone came out of their shells."
Due to him being born abroad and Latics being his first academy club, Victor was unable to feature in any youth team games for the opening months of the campaign, due to international clearance issues.
International clearance is the process where clubs and football associations have to confirm that a player is not registered with a different club in another country.
This can sometimes be an easy task, but there can often be delays as the relevant bodies look for paperwork and registration forms.
“For the first six months I couldn’t play because I had a problem with my ITC (international clearance.”
“I was born in Australia and moved over to the UK when I was younger, but because I’ve only played grassroots before, I’ve never had to go through the ITC process before, meaning it took a bit longer for the club to get the go-ahead that I could play.”
“Once my clearance came through I couldn’t wait to get out there on the pitch.
“I just wanted to play football as soon as possible.
“One positive from that, if you like, is that I had six months to watch the team, see how they played, see how Chuks worked.
“It gave me a real insight into how an academy team operates and how Oldham play.
“That meant, once I was finally allowed to play, it was an easy step for me to make, I already knew large parts of what I was doing."
Victor really feels the benefit of the setup Latics have at Boundary Park, mingling with those who’ve enjoyed numerous years within the academy system - at Oldham and other clubs.
“As someone who didn’t come through the academy pathway, it’s really good to be training and playing with players who have been in the academy system for a while.
“I like learning from them.
“I can play anywhere along the back line, but my strongest position is full back and wing back.
“There are quite a few lads who can play in multiple positions, full back and wing back being two of them, so there’s plenty of competition for places.
“I really enjoy that competition."
Since coming in last year, U19s coach, Chukwuma Akuneto, has proven popular with the youth team players.
He’s worked tirelessly with the lads this season, and after a tough start to the campaign, he’s now got his team performing on a regular basis, which has seen a number of talents flourish on the pitch.
“Working with Chuks is a pleasure to be honest, sometimes he can be a bit rough with you, but that’s only because he’s trying to make you better.
“He just wants you to improve as a player.
“I really enjoy working with him and think he’s an excellent coach.
“We've got a few games left of this season, so for me I just want to help the team get as many points as we can until the end of the season.
“It’s important we try and win as many games as possible.
“Once this season is over, I’m really looking forward to pre-season and next year.
“With all that happened with my ITC this year, it’ll be good to finally have a full season to prove myself and show people what I can do.
“I want to hit the ground running next season.”
The youth team are next in action tonight, away at Accrington Stanley’s Wham Stadium.
Kicking off at 19:00, supporters are welcome to attend, with entrance being through ‘Coley’s Bar’ at the ground.
