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‘Whisper’excites Hallgrímsson
January 19, 2023
Jamaica national football coach, Icelander Heimir Hallgrimsson, is calling Dujuan 'Whisper' Richards an exciting talent, while also eager to assess his matchup against senior opponents after the schoolboy received his first senior call-up this week.
The 17-year-old Richards is the youngest player called to the squad and while Hallgrimsson has not seen the young player in live action, the coach was excited about Richards' prospects.
"This is just the first group (training squad) we are selecting. It's (selection) first of all, is based on the players that went with us to Cameroon. We know those players. Then we take players from the performance in the league up till now and then some names we need to look at because people are talking about them," Hallgrimsson revealed.
"I have not (seen Richards). I have just seen clips from his games. I think he is an exciting young player, but the thing is now we want to see him playing against senior players. You don't have senior players in school football, so I am excited to see how good he is actually against senior players.
"The only way I can evaluate him is to see him, so this is why I called him up. It is probably important to him to measure himself against the other seniors," he continued.
Hallgrimsson also admitted that the national call-up would assist Richards' career, as the younger player heads overseas in a few months, to bolster his chances of getting a professional contract.
"For him, it will be a good step in his career. He will see his weaknesses and strengths against senior players. It is a name that has been on the radar a little bit but now it is for us to see if he is a prospect coming or we will have to wait one or two years, but we will evaluate him maybe not at this session but in one or two months," he stated.
Hallgrimsson, now domiciled in Jamaica, said every effort will be made to keep the overseas-based players engaged and in touch with the developments at home.
"If I need to, maybe I will give players a call, maybe if they are not playing, (ask) why are they not playing. It's watching their fitness level and more or less get to know the players. That has been my focus back in Iceland from September.
"I was monitoring more of those players because the (Jamaica) league hadn't started, so I have been watching a lot of matches with Jamaican players playing abroad. It's watching them and if I need to I will give players a call," he said.
