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World Cup winner to Bolton Wanderer, it has been quite some summer already for rising star Adam Armstrong.
Little fanfare was given to England’s Under-20s when they travelled to South Korea in May, indeed, even as Armstrong scored in a 3-0 group win over Argentina it hardly registered with the national press.
By the end of the tournament, however, Paul Simpson’s side were getting the attention their achievement had deserved and in becoming the first team to lift a competitive trophy since 1966 they paved the way for a summer of success at all levels.
“You see the Under-17s got to the final, the Under-19s won it, the Under-21s were in the semis,” Armstrong told The Bolton News. “I think it shows things are going in the right direction in English football. It’s not doom and gloom.
“It was a mad summer, really. It got mentioned quite a lot before we went that England hadn’t won a game at that level for a while, so once we’d got the monkey off our back against Argentina we took it game by game.
“After we won the group you could sense the confidence was there to go and win the whole thing. People started to notice what we were doing as well.
“We gained in confidence from the start of the competition and in the end, it was a massive achievement.”
The spotlight is anything new to the Newcastle United striker.
After all, local lads – and particularly number nines – rarely go un-noticed by the St James’ Park faithful and Armstrong’s formative years have been spent under considerable scrutiny.
A prolific loan spell at Coventry City raised expectations but since then, by his own admission, he has had to “knuckle down and learn the ropes” in a tough 12 months.
Armstrong turned down the chance to sign for Bolton last summer to play Championship football at Barnsley and has also had limited game time under Rafa Benitez.
Now, enjoying himself at the Macron, he is looking to push on again and rediscover the same confidence he had in the Midlands.
“Last summer the chance to play at the higher level was a bit too difficult to turn down,” he said. “I didn’t score as many as I wanted to at Barnsley and hopefully I can get more here at Bolton. But most of all I want to contribute to a winning team.
“I felt right away at Coventry I was in the right place and I was going to have a good time.
“I hit the ground running and scored in my first game and the whole experience was good for me. There were players like Sam Ricketts, who couldn’t do enough for me. That was the reason I did well for Coventry – it was the right environment at the time.
“I feel like I’ve made a good choice at Bolton too. It isn’t that far away from my family, so there’s always the opportunity to nip back home but from speaking to the gaffer I think I can make an impression here.”
Still just 20, Whites fans have seen Armstrong’s strengths in flashes over pre-season so far.
His explosive pace has already got tongues wagging around Wanderers but the 20-year-old takes a pragmatic view on how his time at the Macron will be judged, both by the Bolton supporters and the folks in the North East.
“I don’t have targets, I think it’s about progressing as a footballer and how I play every game,” he said. “If I don’t score I want to make sure I have a good game and that my team wins. If you get caught up worrying about a chance you’ve missed, it can impact upon everyone else.
“I have learned that more in the last 12 months with Barnsley. It was tough at times but I think I am a better player for the experience.
“When you are a striker you know what you have got to do. I know I’ll be judged by the fans on goals and I’m okay with that.”
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Little fanfare was given to England’s Under-20s when they travelled to South Korea in May, indeed, even as Armstrong scored in a 3-0 group win over Argentina it hardly registered with the national press.
By the end of the tournament, however, Paul Simpson’s side were getting the attention their achievement had deserved and in becoming the first team to lift a competitive trophy since 1966 they paved the way for a summer of success at all levels.
“You see the Under-17s got to the final, the Under-19s won it, the Under-21s were in the semis,” Armstrong told The Bolton News. “I think it shows things are going in the right direction in English football. It’s not doom and gloom.
“It was a mad summer, really. It got mentioned quite a lot before we went that England hadn’t won a game at that level for a while, so once we’d got the monkey off our back against Argentina we took it game by game.
“After we won the group you could sense the confidence was there to go and win the whole thing. People started to notice what we were doing as well.
“We gained in confidence from the start of the competition and in the end, it was a massive achievement.”
The spotlight is anything new to the Newcastle United striker.
After all, local lads – and particularly number nines – rarely go un-noticed by the St James’ Park faithful and Armstrong’s formative years have been spent under considerable scrutiny.
A prolific loan spell at Coventry City raised expectations but since then, by his own admission, he has had to “knuckle down and learn the ropes” in a tough 12 months.
Armstrong turned down the chance to sign for Bolton last summer to play Championship football at Barnsley and has also had limited game time under Rafa Benitez.
Now, enjoying himself at the Macron, he is looking to push on again and rediscover the same confidence he had in the Midlands.
“Last summer the chance to play at the higher level was a bit too difficult to turn down,” he said. “I didn’t score as many as I wanted to at Barnsley and hopefully I can get more here at Bolton. But most of all I want to contribute to a winning team.
“I felt right away at Coventry I was in the right place and I was going to have a good time.
“I hit the ground running and scored in my first game and the whole experience was good for me. There were players like Sam Ricketts, who couldn’t do enough for me. That was the reason I did well for Coventry – it was the right environment at the time.
“I feel like I’ve made a good choice at Bolton too. It isn’t that far away from my family, so there’s always the opportunity to nip back home but from speaking to the gaffer I think I can make an impression here.”
Still just 20, Whites fans have seen Armstrong’s strengths in flashes over pre-season so far.
His explosive pace has already got tongues wagging around Wanderers but the 20-year-old takes a pragmatic view on how his time at the Macron will be judged, both by the Bolton supporters and the folks in the North East.
“I don’t have targets, I think it’s about progressing as a footballer and how I play every game,” he said. “If I don’t score I want to make sure I have a good game and that my team wins. If you get caught up worrying about a chance you’ve missed, it can impact upon everyone else.
“I have learned that more in the last 12 months with Barnsley. It was tough at times but I think I am a better player for the experience.
“When you are a striker you know what you have got to do. I know I’ll be judged by the fans on goals and I’m okay with that.”
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