I played for England alongside Eze, James and Ramsdale – now I play in Azerbaijan and captain another country

STRONG central defender Easah Suliman was a regular in the English age groups during his outstanding youth career

The Brummie-born defender was also a star in Aston Villa’s academy, making his first appearance in the first-team matchday squad aged just 17.

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His only senior appearance for Villans came under Steve Bruce in August 2017, when he replaced Scott Hogan in the final nine minutes of a League Cup game against Wigan.

While Suliman attempted to break through at club level, he established himself as one of the leading players on the international stage, wearing the England captain’s armband from U16 to U20.

He played alongside several stars of the future within the Three Lions squad including Eberechi Eze, Reece James, Aaron Ramsdale and Trent Alexander-Arnold to name a few.

The 26-year-old central defender’s career has taken a direction he perhaps never imagined.

After loan spells at Cheltenham, Grimsby and FC Emmen, Suliman finally left Villa Park in January 2020.

At the time, he wrote on his Instagram account: “Many thanks to everyone at Aston Villa who have supported me and helped me develop as a player and person since I started at the age of 8.”

“It’s been a great 13 years and I wish the club all the best for the future.”

Like many talented young English footballers, Suliman decided to take advantage of his opportunities abroad and moved to Portuguese club Vitoria.

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Suliman was joined in Portugal by two other English young talents: former Chelsea midfielder Jacob Maddox, now at Forest Green, and former Tottenham star Marcus Edwards, now shining for Sporting Lisbon.

As he continued to adapt to men’s football, Suliman moved on to further loan spells at second division clubs Nacional and Vilafranquense.

During his youth career at Villa, Suliman told how he was inspired by English cricketer Moeen Ali, who like him is a proud Brummie of Pakistani descent.

After playing for the Three Lions at youth level, Suliman moved to Pakistan last year.

Suliman now appears to have found some stability in men’s football after signing last summer with Azerbaijani club Sumgayit, where he was a regular last season.

So far he has played nine international matches for Pakistan and has worn the captain’s armband five times.

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Get inspired

Suliman now represents the South Asian nation and continues to draw inspiration from Ali.

“I have met him many times and we are quite close,” Suliman said of the cricket icon in a conversation with The Hindu last year. “Everyone who plays sports in our city looks up to him.

“He was part of the IPL winning team recently and is back in the Ashes team.”

“It shows that you can achieve top performance regardless of your background.”

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MORE CHALLENGES AHEAD

Suliman looked back on the last season with pride and wrote on Instagram back in May: “End of a memorable season.”

“Perfect ending securing European places with @sumqayitfc_official 🟣⚪️ Thank you to the fans for their support throughout the season.”

“And not forgetting what we achieved with the national team at the start of the season by making history @pakistanffofficial.”

Unfortunately, Suliman’s unusual career path now faces a major obstacle.

According to Pakistan Football Mania, the former Villa youngster is suffering from a torn cruciate ligament that he sustained in pre-season and will be sidelined for eight to nine months.

However, with the character and determination he has already shown throughout his career, he will certainly come back stronger from the setback next season.