The former Leeds United youngster is starting again in Norway after an illness left his career in tatters.
Elliot Kebbie’s career may not have turned out the way he had dreamed but the fact he even has a career at all is testament to his remarkable never-say-die attitude, ITV News reports.
Swapping his Yorkshire roots and the Leeds United academy for the sunshine and stardom of Atletico Madrid at the age of just 17, the prodigious full-back honed his glistening footballing potential by whipping devilish balls into the path of Radamel Falcao in the Mediterranean sun.
However, in the cruellest twist of fate, his chances of reaching the Atletico first-team under the guidance of one Diego Simeone were callously struck down after he contracted an Epstein-Barr virus, leaving him wheelchair bound and chronically fatigued for more than two years.
Five years on, however, the journey starts again. Following short stints with Hull City, seventh tier Salford City (below) and Leeds’ Yorkshire rivals Barnsley, 22-year-old Kebbie is set to kick-start his footballing career at Norwegian first division side Sandefjord, reuniting with an old mentor along the way.
“My old coach from Leeds United, Shaun Constable, is the assistant manager here. He got in touch with me just before Christmas and told me there’s a really good opportunity to get some regular first-team football here and it was a bit of a no-brainer as that’s something that I’ve needed,” Kebbie, who signed a one-year deal, told ITV News.
“I was at Barnsley at the time and the opportunity to play first-team football there wasn’t quite materialising. With me coming back from illness, it was always going to be tough for me to get into the squad. Shaun got in touch with me over Facebook, and I literally snapped his hand off at the opportunity.
“I’ve still got the rest of my career ahead of me. I’m only really just getting started.”
Kebbie once had a two-month trial with Barcelona but, for now, any football is good football.
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