Ben Davis, 18, makes debut for Fulham's senior team

Aug 29, 2019 06:00 am

Teenage footballer Ben Davis made his debut for the senior Fulham team yesterday morning (Singapore time), coming on as a substitute for the second-tier English club.

Playing as an English national, the 18-year-old midfielder entered the fray in the 89th minute of their 1-0 loss to Southampton in a League Cup second-round match at Craven Cottage.

Fulham manager Scott Parker told the club website he was pleased that six academy lads got some game time.

Davis posted on social media: "Grateful to make my professional debut tonight despite the unlucky result."

Last year, Davis' application for national service (NS) deferment in Singapore was rejected by the Ministry of Defence (Mindef), as his father was unable to commit to a date for him to return to serve NS if deferred; and his deferment application was to further his professional career, instead of serving Singapore's interests first.

In February, Mindef said that Davis had defaulted on his NS commitments.