CALLUM Dolan’s journey to this new high in his footballing career has been far from straightforward.
Having started at the top in Manchester United’s academy, he’s dealt with rejection and even incarceration having spent eight months in a young offender’s institution for dangerous driving and driving whilst disqualified.
Since then, however, he has rebuilt his career thanks to a sparkling spell at Warrington Rylands to earn a move back to the professional ranks.
Joining Fleetwood Town represents a four-division step up the pyramid from the Northern Premier League’s top flight to League One, but could he go even further?
> Click here to read more about Callum Dolan's move to Fleetwood Town
Rylands boss Jody Banim, who first came across the flying forward as a raw teenager, reckons he can.
“All the noise I’m getting from Fleetwood is that he’s going straight into their first team squad,” he told the Guardian.
“Scott Brown (Fleetwood manager) really likes him, he’s been doing really well in training games when he’s been down there.
“He’s got the physical attributes and I don’t think the step up to League One is going to faze him.
“From a technical perspective, I think he’ll thrive and to be honest, he could go even further.
“He’s got plenty of time to do that and make a life for himself now.
“My history with Callum actually goes back quite a few years – I had him at Ashton just before he got his move to Oldham.
“He’d been bounced around a few pro clubs when he came to us so we got him in and he did very well for us in pre-season.
“We played a friendly against Oldham and we lost him to them in pre-season as he was a non-contracted player.
“We got him back on loan – he was only 18-19 at that time and you could see the raw ability he had.
“He had the trouble he had, he left Oldham and I lost touch with him but when I turned up at Rylands, he was already here but as a completely different player and person.
“His maturity levels are through the roof and physically, he’s filled out.
“Previously, he hadn’t really been the focal point of the team and that’s what we made him – we built the structure around him and getting the ball to him.
“I actively pursued the move for him – I went to Fleetwood to let them know about him and once they came to see him, things moved quite quickly.”
With Elliott Nevitt also earning a move to the Football League with Tranmere Rovers following a successful spell at Gorsey Lane in 2021, Rylands are starting to carve out a reputation for themselves.
Those two players can now be held up to prospective signings as evidence that shining in a blue shirt can get you noticed.
> COMMENT: Why Dolan's move is both reputation-enhancing and problematic for Warrington Rylands
As Banim explains, however, there is a balancing act.
“Of course, we’ve got our own ambitions to be successful,” he says.
“We’ve got to balance that with giving young players opportunities to progress because as a club, we don’t want to stand in anybody’s way of that.
“If you get a reputation for blocking these kinds of moves higher up the pyramid, players get wind of it and if they have an option to go somewhere that promotes that progression, they will take it.
“We have to balance it out – we’re losing a really good player in Callum but we recognise it’s a brilliant opportunity for him.
“We don’t want to stand in his way. We want him to take that opportunity.”
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