Swansea City winger Jamal Lowe admits that Queens Park Rangers released him as a teenager due to the rapid rise of another exciting young winger – a certain Raheem Sterling.
It’s not every day a Premier League giant is willing to invest half a million pounds in a 15-year-old without a single first-team appearance under his belt (Mail).
But, clearly, Raheem Sterling was no ordinary 15-year-old.
Ten years after swapping Loftus Road for Liverpool, the 58-time England international is now one of the most prolific forwards in European football, becoming a two-time Premier League champion since moving on to Manchester City in a £49 million deal.
Lowe’s rise has been a little less astonishing but, at the age of 26, the in-form winger is certainly showing QPR what they are missing.
“I was at QPR but I did not get offered a scholarship there,” the former Portsmouth star told Swansea’s website.
“At the time I was there, I was playing left wing and there was another left winger there who was about a year-and-a-half younger than me, and they thought he was going to be the next big thing.
“It turned out that kid was Raheem Sterling, so I suppose I can’t really say they got it wrong! He got the deal and I didn’t!”
Lowe has impressed at promotion-chasing Swansea since arriving in a bargain £800,000 deal from cash-strapped Wigan Athletic over the summer, scoring eight Championship goals over the last year-and-a-half.
“I thought Jamal looked a real threat, in the first half especially; he made it difficult for their back line,” Swans boss Steve Cooper said after he scored in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Bristol City.
“It was a brilliant finish, he has that in his locker, and we want to unlock a bit more of that as he is going to be a good player for us, now and in the future.”
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