From England’s 11th tier to Serie A: the ‘one in a billion’ story of Jack Nunn
It is a story that Patrick Williams, the founder of Bristol Inner City Football Academy, describes as being a “one in a billion” occurrence. “A young lad has gone from playing amateur football to Serie A,” he says. “This sort of thing just doesn’t happen."
Over the past 20 years, Williams has seen thousands of players come and go in his role as a coach. How many of those can say they have turned professional? Not many.
But every so often, an extraordinary talent comes along to break the mould. Three months ago, Jack Nunn was playing for Mangotsfield United in a Gloucestershire County Cup final against Cheltenham Saracens. With just over 200 people in attendance, the 10th-tier side came out 3-2 winners at Oaklands Park.
It’s safe to say life has changed since then. These days, Jack can often be found in the far-more-glamorous surroundings of Cagliari — the picturesque capital city of Sardinia — with a cup of fresh coffee, brushing up on Italian phrases on Duolingo.
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After making his debut for the Rossoblu in their Primavera clash with Monza, he will be hoping to feature in their next game against Inter Milan on September 14. The smile on his face says it all.
"It's a dream come true,” Jack tells SPORTbible from his new apartment, which is situated near Cagliari's CRAI training ground. “To call it my job... it still doesn't feel real. I can do what I love and get paid for it. I'm so happy."
Earlier this year, Jack was studying for a BTEC qualification in business and finance at SGS College; all whilst representing partner clubs Stoke Gifford of the Gloucestershire County League and the previously mentioned Mangotsfield United.
Having been turned down by Exeter and Bristol City at the age of 10 and 11 respectively, he thought the chances of a career in football were slim to none.
“I still had a bit of hope but there was definitely a part of me that thought, 'I've got to start thinking about something else,'" Jack says. "I was thinking of doing an apprenticeship in something business-related like quantity surveying because my dad is in the building industry.”
Nobody could have predicted what was to come. Rather than managing costs for construction projects, the 18-year-old will be managed by Fabio Pisacane, the former Cagliari defender with over 400 senior appearances to his name, in the coming months.
And to think; it all happened after an unexpected message from a scout on Instagram changed everything.
“If you want my black-and-white answer then I’d say he wasn't good enough.”
Patrick Williams, the man who coached Jack Nunn for much of his childhood, knows why he failed to secure a contract after trials at Exeter and Bristol City. “I knew Jack was the best technician we had in the group at the time but he was going into a very different environment at academy level,” Williams continues.
“I wouldn't say the people he played with in the trials were more mature at the time, but I’d say they had more resilience. I always thought Jack would be a late developer and he had to overcome some of his fears in those games.”
Jack says he was “a bit disheartened” after being turned down on three separate occasions [twice at Bristol and once with Exeter] but looking back, that very difficult experience played an important role when a tournament in Italy ended up earning him a trial at Serie A side Cagliari.
The Roma Caput Mundi – a five-day invitational featuring national youth teams from across Europe – took place in March, with some of the best young college players from the likes of Italy, Denmark, Greece, Wales and England taking part.
Ahead of last year’s edition, Jack failed to get past the first stage of the rigorous selection process but after playing regular minutes in the Hellenic League, the midfielder was far more prepared in his second year at SGS College. “I knew what to expect,” he says. “I tried to get on the ball as much as I could instead of hiding and waiting for it to come to me.”
David Hockaday, the former Leeds United manager who is the head coach at SGS, says it was Jack’s versatility as a CDM, box-to-box midfielder, number 10, striker, and occasionally centre-back, that led to his selection for England Colleges.
Jack soon found himself on the bench for their opener against Italy but after coming on at half-time, a so-called “pretty decent” performance in Rome followed as England recorded their first win over Italian opposition in the competition’s 18-year history.
A few hours later, an unexpected message popped up on his phone that would change the direction of his life.
“The first contact was actually through Instagram,” he laughs. “The scout from Cagliari sent a picture of myself and asked if it was me. I was so confused. I didn't have a clue who it was at first. I told a few of my mates I was with at the time just to say, 'What's this?'
"I thought it was some random fan or something at first but after a chat, he said he was a scout at Cagliari and liked the way I played."
Nereo Bonato, the sporting director at Cagliari, was on the touchline that afternoon to try and discover potentially undiscovered talent when he came across Jack, who was playing in his favoured role as a box-to-box midfielder. He was suitably impressed.
A day later, Bonato stood on the touchline again as Nunn was handed his first start against Greece. After the referee blew his whistle for half-time, he briefly introduced himself. You could argue it was a test to see if Jack could handle the pressure of being watched.
”I went out, played the second half and ended up being awarded the Player of the Match,” Jack smiles. “After the game, my dad came up to me and said, ‘Look this is proper. It's not a joke.’ I remember just saying to him, ‘Look I just want to get through the tournament first. And then I'll worry about it afterwards.’”
For a third game in a row, Bonato watched on as England Colleges recorded a win over Canada and once again, words were exchanged before the final against Wales. A loss followed but more importantly, an invite to Cagliari’s training ground to attend a trial was discussed.
Instead of flying from Rome to Bristol, Jack waited around at Rome airport for a few hours before hopping on a flight to Cagliari. “I was so tired but at the time, I was just so open-minded to everything,” he says. “I thought, even if nothing comes of it, it's a good experience to look around a Serie A club.”
A tour of the CRAI Sport Center training facility followed, which also featured a meeting with the majority of staff members, including then-first-team manager Claudio Ranieri, who welcomed the teenager with open arms. Seeing the likes of Yerry Mina in training was a “surreal” experience.
Jack returned home to Bristol before travelling back to the Island of Sardinia towards the end of the season. A match against the Cagliari first-team put everything into perspective.
“You can't put into words how different it is,” says Jack as he recalls coming up against Serie A regulars. "But the Italian style is completely different to the English way of playing. So there's that. And then the speed of everything, the physicality and the language. I'm trying my best to learn Italian. I know a few football terms already.”
Things went quiet on the transfer front for a while following his second trial, which brought a smidge of anxiety. Cagliari, however, were convinced by Jack’s technical ability. He performed the basics well and in their eyes, he had all the qualities to learn and improve. Those behind the scenes see Jack as having the potential to one day succeed in Italy’s top division.
A contract was put on the table ahead of pre-season. It was a dream come true after such a turbulent journey. “I'd say I’m a mixture of relieved and proud of myself,” he grins. “I've already played for a long time, so to finally get something out of it is amazing.”
Having been through so many highs and lows in his short career so far, Jack’s dad, Dave, thinks his son will adapt to a life away from Bristol.
“The Italians like him because he’s got the technical skills they like but he’s picked up the physical side of English football as well,” he told FromValleyVoice. “He is very grounded. The worst that can happen is he gets two years in Italy, and comes back with a sun tan and something to tell the kids about.”
Patrick Williams, meanwhile, is beyond proud of a journey that will soon see Jack come up against some of the very best talent from teams like Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio, to name just a few.
“We’ve known each other for a long time. It almost feels like it’s my son who has been successful, and I sincerely mean that,” he says.
“It’s the same with all the boys that I've had involvement with. I won't try and get emotional about this, but I love seeing young people be successful in their lives, whether it's football or elsewhere. If they find a better path for themselves, then I feel like I've made a difference.”
Jack Kenmare