‘Destined for greatness’ is how Cherno Samba describes Adama Bojang, having had many others once use that phrase about him.
Samba is in familiar territory as the agent of a footballing wonderkid attracting the attention of the Premier League‘s elite clubs.
Chelsea and West Ham are among the clubs who have scouted his client Bojang, talkSPORT understands.
Gambian striker Bojang, 21 next month, is registered with Stade Reims but has spent this season on loan at Swiss side Grasshoppers.
Reims are reluctant to lose the exciting young talent, who has three years left on his contract and is seen as a natural goalscorer.
However, the time may now be right to cash in, having beaten out interest from Chelsea to sign him as a teenager in July 2023.
Only months earlier, Bojang had the pick of potential clubs following his standout showings at the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
His agent, Samba, had instead advised him about the dangers of too much, too fast at a key development stage for players.
The latter was propelled into an overnight sensation at 15 by the hit game, Football Manager, following his impressive youth career.
Speaking in May 2023, Samba exclusively told talkSPORT.com: “I’ve spoken to [Bojang], I’ve told him to keep his feet on the ground as myself and my own story, being a striker.
“The hype around me growing up around his age, he could not be in a better place in terms of me looking after him.
“I can show him all the pitfalls of the game.”
When he was 13, Samba received a call from Michael Owen after he’d broken the Ballon d’Or winner’s English schoolboy goal-scoring record with 132 goals in 32 games.
But his dream to follow in Owen’s footsteps by joining Liverpool from Millwall failed to materialise, despite then-manager Gerard Houllier promising it would get done.
He explained to talkSPORT: “Two weeks later [after the call from Owen] my dad called me and I came downstairs in the kitchen and he said, ‘Look you can see how your mum has not been well for the past two weeks’ and then he told me the deal has not gone through.
“I remembered I just dropped on the floor in the kitchen and just started crying my eyes out.”
Sadly, the entire ordeal ultimately led to Samba falling into depression and trying to take his own life.
On a more positive note, the experience has meant Bojang’s future has proven to be in the perfect hands, as interest in him rises.
AFPHe has already emulated his game to the style of Ronaldo and Kane[/caption]
Samba explained to talkSPORT.com two years ago: “I am telling Adama, ‘listen, get your football ready, concentrate on your game and everything else will take care of itself’.
“From my own experience and my own path when I was coming up, these are the things I can steer him away from.
“I deal with the stuff that he doesn’t need to know. Let me take the burden of that, and he just needs to concentrate.
“I’ve been there, done that and got the T-shirt, so there is not a better person to steer him away from the pitfalls of the game and the bad apples.
“At this stage, everyone is coming for you. That is what was done to me and I wasn’t experienced enough to handle it.
“I didn’t have the right people to guide me from the bad apples, the limelight and everything else that is going on. So I am the perfect person for him.”
“Absolutely [he’s ready to step up],” Samba added.
“He is destined for greatness. He needs to go to a club that will develop him, and the rest will be history, I tell you that.
“Fingers crossed he stays away from injury, but he will be a top, top, top player.
“He is a very, very talented prospect, that’s for sure. He looks up to Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane.
“He’s always watching YouTube videos of Cristiano and trying to emulate himself like that.
“He has got the pace, he’s great in the air and he is a goalscorer.”
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