Leo Castledine, son of former Premier League ace Stewart, wowed fans as he struck just 22 minutes into his first start for new club Shrewsbury Town.
Castledine, 19, started his youth career with Chelsea before moving to his father’s old club, Wimbledon. He then returned to Cobham after seven years away, signing his first professional contract in August 2022.
Mauricio Pochettino handed the midfielder a senior debut when the Blues faced Middlesbrough in the EFL Cup last season, and he has now been given the chance to play senior football and impress on loan at Shrewsbury – something that took him less than half an hour to do.
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Castledine was handed a first start for his new club by manager Paul Hurst as his side faced Leyton Orient in League One, and notched the opener after being slid in by another Premier League loanee, Aston Villa prospect Tommi O’Reilly.
The young creative player was taken off after 79 minutes, replaced by John Marquis, but saw his side kick on and score another two goals and run away 3-0 victors.
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(Image: Getty Images)
One fan took to social media in awe of the youngster, posting: “Leo Castledine and Tommi O’Reilly are a cheat code. Wow,” while another simply wrote: “Star boy.”
Speaking after the match, Castledine opened up about what it was like to bag a goal on his EFL debut. “It was just perfect,” he stated. “You can’t explain that feeling. There are things in football that are the reason you play. That’s the reason I play. When you score and hear the fans, it’s just irreplaceable.
“To be honest, there’s not much better of a debut you could ask for. The team knew what position we were in today going into the game. It was a big game, and I only had one thing on my mind, which was to win.
(Image: Getty Images)
“Coming out of it with a goal helps a lot but it was a really good performance from the boys. I just saw the gap and thought I’d go because I know what Tommi O’Reilly can do on the ball and how he can pass the ball. I saw the gap, locked eyes with him and said, ‘Go on, put me in there.’
“The game was a tight one at the time, and I think the goal really helped push momentum in our favour. We were able to keep onto it until halftime, and that helped.”
Striker Tom Bloxham came off the bench and notched a pair of goals as Castledine’s new side romped to a win that took them out of the relegation places, after suffering three consecutive losses to start the season.