LANGWARRIN'S Bailey Wright took a major step towards starting his international soccer career last week when he was included in the squad for new club Preston North End, which plays in the second tier English league, the Championship.
The league comprises English powerhouse clubs such as Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace, with Preston sitting mid-table. While the defender-centre half did not get a run in Preston's 1-1 draw with Coventry, his inclusion in the squad is nonetheless an enormous achievement.
His selection was announced by Preston manager Darren Ferguson, who described him as dedicated and as having a "fantastic" attitude to football.
Wright was signed on a two-year contract with the club in July last year but spent months in limbo while attaining clearances from Victorian and Australian football federations.
But that all mattered little last week when his family huddled around a computer at their Langwarrin home to watch him live his lifelong dream.
Wright's former coach, Langwarrin's Gus MacLeod, is not surprised by the lad's meteoric rise to first-class football.
"I always admired him.
"Even from a young age you could tell he was always destined for something better, and he is a delight to manage and a lovely, lovely boy."
With Craig MacKenzie
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