Kasper Schmeichel makes Notts County reveal after brutal Man City exit | OneFootball

Notts County have been a club that have often welcomed young goalkeepers to Meadow Lane with open arms in the aims of progressing their respective careers.

The likes of Anthony Patterson, Archie Mair and Luca Ashby-Hammond have all stood between the sticks for the Magpies over the years, each having a defining moment during their time in the East Midlands that has gone on to shape their immediate futures.

But for one goalkeeper, arriving in Nottingham with the weight of his father's name firmly fixed on his back, it would be on the banks of the River Trent where he would make his name and allow him to go on and recieve English football's top accolades.

Kasper Schmeichel's Notts County career

Having started his career at Manchester City in 2006, Kasper Schmeichel was hopeful of emulating his father's illustrious goalkeeping career in the blue half of Manchester.

The Dane would spend time on loan at Darlington, Bury and Falkirk before making his debut for the Citizens in the Premier League against West Ham United.

He would keep five clean sheets in his first seven games for the club, subsequently signing a new four-year deal with City, only to be dropped from the first-team and join Cardiff City on loan until January before returning to Eastlands.

Schmeichel would join Coventry City for the remainder of the campaign, and upon his return to Manchester, admitted he regretted signing a new deal with the club, given that Joe Hart had now claimed the number one spot with the Citizens.

His final appearance for City would come in December 2008 during a UEFA Cup fixture against Racing de Santander, moving permanently to League Two side Notts County ahead of the 2009/10 season.

Schmeichel would reunite with former Manchester City manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson, who had recently been appointed the new director of football at Meadow Lane in a deal that reportedly broke the Magpies' previous transfer record.

It was with Notts that the Dane would be able to showcase his talents that had been overlooked by his former club, earning himself the League Two Player of the Month award just two months into his time with the East Midlands side.

He would go on to help the Magpies lift the League Two title later that season, doing so by conceding just 0.67 goals per league game, along with a clean-sheet-to-game-ratio of an impressive 55.8%.

Shortly before their final game of the season, the club agreed to release Schmeichel at the end of the campaign due to financial reasons. It was reported the young goalkeeper was earning around £15,000 per week, coinciding with the high-spending ownership of Munto Finance during the summer of 2009.

Schmeichel would make a move to Leeds United in the summer, leaving Meadow Lane a fan favourite despite a short stint with the Magpies.

Kasper Schmeichel makes Notts County admission following Manchester City exit

Following his exit from Manchester City, Schmeichel would go on to have an exceptional career, most notably with Leicester City, winning the FA Cup and the Premier League with the Foxes.

But it wasn't all that easy for the Danish shot stopper, who rose through the English football pyramid to get to where he finds himself today.

Speaking on the latest episode of The Rest Is Football podcast to Gary Lineker, the 37-year-old, who now plays his football with Anderlecht, spoke about his exit from the Citizens and revealed that his loan moves, along with his time at Notts County and Leeds was a key part to his success.

"No, I didn't (doubt himself)," Schmeichel began. "I always saw it as a step along the ladder. The thing is, growing up the way I did, I always thought that if I just work at that intensity, I will get there.

"If I have that single-mindedness, that desire and that will, I knew I had the talent, but, I always told that hard work beats talent, so I thought that if I combined those two, then I have got a chance. I was never going to let that not happen.

"Don't get me wrong, it was tough because I ended up getting my Premier League debut quite early and I made mistakes, but I also got kind of brutally removed from the position and actually from my last Premier League appearance for Manchester City to my next Premier League appearance, which was then with Leicester City, there were eight years between them.

"I kind of felt like I had lost eight years of my career when they should have been spent in the Premier League, but wasn't. But then that always goes back to what my Dad told me, it will be more difficult for you.

"That is why I always thought I had to be playing. I would rather go on loan or drop down to keep playing to learn my craft and to get all these little mistakes out of my game and get that experience.

"A lot of times, it is changing slightly now, but a lot of times, particularly at that age, football was so different to what it is today. Back then, I wasn't tall enough, and I wasn't this or that.

"Back then, it was about tall keepers commanding your box, and who kicked the furthest. That is what you looked back in keepers, but now that has changed, and back then, it was also about experience.

"No one wanted to give a 19-20-year-old goalkeeper a chance really because you wanted some at 27, 28, 29 and some experience in there.

"For me, the way I saw it, was that I was going to get experience, and I am going to do my homework and go through whatever I need to go through, so when that day arrives again, I am going to be ready and nothing is going to stop me.

"And then when I get my claws back into Premier League, I am never letting go."