MALACHI FAGAN-WALCOTT made his York City debut over the weekend in a 2-0 victory at Wealdstone’s Grosvenor Vale - but he once stepped out on to the field at the Red Bull Arena in Germany, representing Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Champions League.

The 22-year-old became Adam Hinshelwood’s 10th signing of the season last week, penning a season-long loan from Cardiff City, and was immediately thrown into action against Wealdstone after a first-half injury to Darragh O’Connor.

It’s not his only appearance of the season, after featuring in Cardiff’s season-opener at Burnley.

But with experiences of Grosvenor Vale, Turf Moor and potentially the LNER Community Stadium on Tuesday night versus Braintree Town (7.45pm), none can top when Fagan-Walcott made his Tottenham debut in the Champions League round of 16 against RB Leipzig in March 2020.

“We were 3-0 down and it was about the 80th minute when they told me to go and warm-up,” Fagan-Walcott explained.

“I just thought that I’m going to go and warm-up, but then the assistant manager said to me to get ready, and I just thought surely not!

“They told me I was going to come on for set-pieces and stuff, and when I was stood there waiting for the ball to go out, Jose Mourinho just said to go and show the world who I am.

“We were 3-0 down, go and show the world who you are, go and get a yellow card or something. I tried, but didn’t get it though!

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“He kind of just took all of the pressure away, I wasn’t nervous or anything, but he said that he wanted to give me an opportunity so I just felt grateful.

“It was weird, because I was only in the game for seven minutes, but it was before the game where it felt really surreal.

“The warm-up, you’d go out and the Champions League music was on, you’d run across the pitch and clap the fans.

“You only see that or dream of that as a kid, and the stadium was massive, so I was looking around and just thinking ‘wow’.

“I was 17 and had just had my birthday, it was just unreal.

“Coming on, because it was only the last seven minutes, you don’t really get into the pace of the game so it didn’t feel too bad.”

Fagan-Walcott broke into the Spurs first-team set-up whilst the reputable Jose Mourinho was in charge, and would learn his trade in North London.

He would go on to talk about his experience working under ‘the Special One’, as well as how the situation of his promotion into the first-team came about.

Fagan-Walcott continued: “I was training with them from the beginning of the year, so I was with them for a while, a long time.

“Jose came in and he would pick the players from watching games. He picked me, a player called Dennis Cirkin, Harvey White and Troy Parrott.

“We were the four that were over there constantly.

“As a manager you’ve got to know your players, but he had interest, we would have youth Champions League games and he would be there watching.

Malachi Fagan-Walcott shared his experience of working under Jose Mourinho.Malachi Fagan-Walcott shared his experience of working under Jose Mourinho. (Image: York City FC)

“You’d seen him on the sidelines, and even if he couldn’t make it, he would watch it back.

“Ledley King was there at the time, and because I was with them so much, they used to take me into their office and go through me in the under-21’s games, which I found really helpful.

“I could kind of see that they were really interested, they really wanted to try and make me into a player.”

Along with his experience in the Champions League at Tottenham, Fagan-Walcott was also selected for international duty with the England at youth level, making over 10 appearances when representing his county.

His time with the Three Lions also included spells playing with the likes of Jude Bellingham and Jamal Musiala, with Fagan-Walcott telling the Press about the experience.

“The first call-up was the best call-up.

“They do this thing at England under-15’s where there are three different camps that you go to, and three difference batches of players.

“My one, my first camp, was quite a few of the Tottenham boys so we kind of all got in together and talked about what camp we were going to.

“Everyone found out they were going to the second one and found out that we were going to be together.

“When you got there, there was no pressure or anything because you have been picked for a reason, because they think you are really good, so go and express yourself.

“That was a funny and good camp, and that feeling when I came in and was telling my mum was unreal. She started crying.

“He [Bellingham] was really small, tiny.

“Him and Jamal Musiala, but they were really hungry from the beginning.

“I’m born in 2002 and they were born in 2003, but playing up [an age group] with us, and you could just tell that they had the character to go the whole way, like they have.

“They were really good, it’s like when you see a player and you just think ‘yeah, they are really good’, they were playing up with us and holding their own at international level.

“You could only imagine how far they could go.”

Fagan-Walcott’s career has seen the 22-year-old land at Cardiff in the Sky Bet Championship, where he made his debut this season.

“That was really good, it felt different compared to Tottenham.

“When I signed there I had came off of a long injury so I knew that I would have to impress and do the work.

“I feel like they really rewarded me for how I went on loan and played, but I am still grateful.”