John Bostock: Why I turned down Barcelona offer before Brentford move | OneFootball

John Bostock was in the public eye from his mid-teens.

He was seen as a generational talent, a wonderkid - the future of English football. Every one of Europe’s elite wanted him on their books and Barcelona famously offered him a contract, supposedly lasting 10 years.

It was a lot for the 14-year-old - then part of Crystal Palace’s academy - to process.

“At the time, it felt like it was my life, so I had to get on with it,” Bostock explains.

“But, as my career progressed, I realised the kind of exposure I had from a young age wasn’t normal. It wasn’t easy having that expectation, not just from people around me, but I suppose I then tried to carry that expectation myself.

“I wanted to prove I was who people thought I was.”

He did leave Selhurst Park in the summer of 2008 - having set a new record for the Eagles’ youngest ever player at 15 years and 287 days old - as he swapped south for north, with Tottenham paying a reported initial fee of just £700,000 to secure his signature.

Playing in a warmer climate would have to wait.

“My family and I agreed it would be best for us to stay in England, especially London,” he says.

“I’m a follower of Jesus and I believe our steps are ordered. I was exposed to faith in my mid-teens and so my relationship with God was my source throughout all the trials and tribulations and helped me mature very quickly. It gave me a different outlook on my career and life in general.

“I’m sure moving to Barcelona would have been a lovely, lovely choice, but I met my wife at Tottenham and, behind the scenes, away from the pitch, my character really got formed at the club.

“It was quite close and the offer was made, but we chose to stay in London.”

Bostock played three times in Europe during the 2008/09 season but could find no pathway to the Spurs first team, so made the first loan move of his career in November 2009, when he joined Brentford after being convinced by manager Andy Scott.

With Wojciech Szczesny joining on loan from Arsenal a week later, it was an exciting time to be a Bee.

The 17-year-old was handed his debut for the midweek visit of Millwall a little more than 24 hours later - and marked it with two goals in 16 minutes in an eventual 2-2 draw at Griffin Park. The second came straight from a corner. “I remember it was a bit windy that day - or maybe I just had a great whip on me!”, he jokes.

“I was buzzing to score. My family was going through a lot at the time as my mum had cancer, so when I scored that day after she’d had her treatment, it was a massive lift for me and my family. That was a special time.”

Bostock added one more assist in the remainder of the time he was at Brentford meaning, numbers-wise, it did not look like the most fruitful loan spell on paper. But the experience he was afforded stood him in good stead.

“I’m of the belief that, even if a loan doesn’t look successful, it can still be successful internally and really provide you with the experience that can help you kick on in your career,” he adds.

“I had played five or six times for Palace and then 10 games for Brentford, so it was the next step in my natural development. It definitely was an eye-opener because I was going into games where players have got wind I was a young player on loan from Spurs, so I was having to prove myself against some quality pros.

“It was the run of games I needed. It was a challenge because I played out of position on the right-wing and left-wing and I’d never really played there before. But you do a job and you recognise there’s a lot on the line for these players and managers

“We learn more from times that aren’t so successful more than we can learn in success. It was a wonderful time and I look back on it fondly, as those early loans to Brentford and other clubs helped me to mature quickly.”

Valuable relationships were built during his time at the club, too.

Bostock reveals: “I remember being really close to Myles Weston, who I’ve been close with ever since. Karleigh Osborne was really helpful and I got on well with Wojciech Szczesny, who it has been so great to see become an elite goalkeeper. We could see it at the time, he was just brilliant.

“Sam Saunders was vocal in the changing room and Kevin O’Connor just quietly went about his business; you could see his quality with the way he carried himself and approached training. Being around people like that helps you.”

After being an unused substitute for the 1-0 defeat at Norwich on 23 January 2010, Bostock returned to Tottenham after just over two months in west London.

“I would love to have played more,” he states. “But I recognise managers’ jobs are on the line and there is pressure to win games; it can’t always just be about developing players and giving players a chance.

“Football is a business and you have to win. I really appreciated the opportunity Andy Scott gave me to play for the club.

“I have really fond memories of the stadium, the club, the fans, the training ground and just being exposed to the men’s game in my teens, being given the chance to learn my qualities as a player and a person at Brentford. It’s a time I cherish.”

After leaving Spurs in 2013, the 32-year-old went to Belgium, France and Turkey, with the two years he spent at Lens between 2016 and 2018 a particular highlight, as well as signing for Ligue 1 side Toulouse in 2018/19 as he neared the end of a self-imposed five-year target of returning to one of Europe’s top five leagues.

Bostock has been back in the UK for five years now, having initially returned for a loan spell at Nottingham Forest in 2019. He played for Doncaster for two seasons and Notts County for another two, helping the latter to promotion from the National League in 2023.

“I would have loved to have finished my career on the continent but, as you grow and you have a family, different priorities become your focus,” he says. “To be rooted in a home after so many years travelling is definitely a blessing.”

He returned to non-league to join Solihull Moors in late July, where he signed a two-year contract.

“I like the way they play, I had a really good feeling about the manager and it’s a new project, something that will be a challenge, but one I look forward to attacking,” Bostock adds.

“I’m very grateful to have experienced promotion from this league. I’ve played in many divisions and this is a very tough one to get out of. But I do like a challenge.”

Edging towards the final years of his career, Bostock is thankful he is still able to do the job he loves, albeit no longer at the level that was originally expected of him all those years ago.

“I have come to realise I have nothing to protect. I’m not here to protect a name, my identity, what people think of me,” he says.

“I love to play the game of football, which I believe is the gift God has given me and whatever pitch I step on, I do it to enjoy it and also to glorify Jesus, whether that be a Sunday League pitch or the Champions League final. I see it all as an opportunity to do what I love most.

“I probably wouldn’t have chosen for my career to go the way it went, but I’m very glad it has gone that way because it has really made me the person I am today.”