Josh Stephenson: Fighting Spirit | OneFootball

Whilst Josh Stephenson has made quite the impact in his first few months at the club, it hasn’t always been an easy journey with the 18-year-old saying he faced “massive setbacks” prior to signing a four-year deal at Brentford.

The centre-back always dreamt of playing football full-time but nearly had that dream taken away from him after breaking his leg at a young age whilst playing for Chelsea’s academy.

Growing up in London, the opportunities for a player of Stephenson's talent proved endless as he trialled regularly for different clubs in the capital.

“It was natural for me to start playing football, I used to go to watch my brother play and since then it’s been mainly all about football my whole life,” explained Stephenson.

“I trialled for most teams in London at a very young age and eventually chose Chelsea, it was a good start and gave me a head start with my technical ability so that was definitely a beneficial part of my career for sure.”

It was during his time at Chelsea when disaster struck for the young defender as he suffered a broken leg, which would lead to a seven-month recovery period.

Stephenson’s hopes of becoming a professional footballer had taken a huge setback at the age of just nine.

Despite this, he feels going through such a traumatic event at a young age made him stronger and even more hungry to reach his goal.

“Setbacks are massive, I broke my leg at a very young age when I was at Chelsea which was obviously a major setback,” said Stephenson.

“I was out for about six to seven months, so I had to overcome that and try to get back to my best.

“From that injury, I struggled and was let go by Chelsea which at the time really hurt but I knew you must come back stronger from those things, and I think in the long run it’s helped me.”

Stephenson went on to join Millwall’s academy working his way through the ranks before going on to captain the Lions under-18s side to the Professional Development League Cup title in 2023.

He also led the team to the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup, where they lost to Leeds United.

In November the centre-back signed a four-year contract with the club and made his debut for Brentford B in a 2-1 win over Peterborough United.

Speaking on his first few months at the club, Stephenson said: “I’ve enjoyed it, all of the team have made me feel very comfortable and the coaching staff have been helpful for me.

“I didn’t realise I was in the squad until the day before, so I had to prepare quite quickly but I really enjoyed my debut and thought it was a good game from the whole team, and I was happy with my performance on a personal level.”

Stephenson has been a brick at the heart of Brentford’s defence since his arrival forming a strong partnership with Benjamin Arthur.

The defender has featured eight times since his arrival helping the side to three clean sheets during that period.

He will now prepare with the rest of the squad for Monday night’s all-important Premier League Cup Group I fixture.

Speaking on the side’s final PL Cup group fixture Stephenson said he looks forward to facing his old side and feels him and his team-mates are ready for the challenge.

“We know what’s at stake and we know that a win ensures that we will get out of the group," he concluded.

“Obviously Chelsea are a great side so we are going to have to be at our best if we want to get the three points.”