Northern Ireland U19 star says Irish League education with Crusaders helped set him up for Nottingham Forest move ahead of Seaview return

The 18-year-old swapped North Belfast for the Midlands in 2022 after impressing on the Shore Road, making his Premiership debut aged 15 to alert Forest – a club which has won two European Cups in a decorated history.

He’s part of Gareth McAuley’s U19 squad for a friendly double-header against Slovakia which acts as final preparation for this summer’s European Championships – a competition being held in Northern Ireland – with the opening match taking place at Seaview before Monday’s fixture at Inver Park.

Thompson was able to soak up invaluable experience in a changing room that included the likes of Irish League legends Paul Heatley, Billy Joe Burns and Jordan Owens, while it was led by an iconic figure in Stephen Baxter, and feels getting that exposure helped lay the platform for a dream move to England.

"I loved the Crues,” he said. “Stephen Baxter gave me my debut when I was 15. I loved every minute there, I was still in school and I was training with the first team on a Tuesday and Thursday night and then on the bench on a Saturday.

"Some of the experience there was so good - Billy Joe Burns, Paul Heatley - they've only played in the Irish League but the experience they have is scary. They only lost 2-0 to Wolves who had the likes of Diogo Jota playing for them, so they've experienced a lot of things.

"Then there's players like Ben Kennedy and Robbie Weir who have been across the water and played a load of games in the Football League. To be able to train with the likes of them set me up for coming over.

"Being 15 or 16 playing against men does set you up for so much more. Things like using your body and your brain more than you would when you're younger.”

Thompson is part of a Northern Irish cluster currently based at Forest which includes Aaron Donnelly and Dale Taylor, who are both in the senior squad for friendlies this month, and he’s been able to put a number of nasty injuries behind him to hit top form once again.

He made his U21 club debut by playing 90 minutes against Sunderland in January and also registered appearances for their U18 side which finished seventh in the U18 Premier League.

"It's never easy with any injury,” added Thompson. “I've had a few injuries, I broke my leg and my foot but I've bounced back from it and I'm feeling fit and I'm enjoying it now.

"An injury can never come at a perfect time but it's just about how you deal with it and how you come back. The Forest physios were great with me, I was working hard every day. It's just one of those things, you can't change anything about it.

"You could think about what you could have done to not get injured, but if you do that you'll be thinking about it all the time. It's just one of those things you have to get on with and you can come out a more resilient person at the end of it.

"There's me, Dale, Jamie (McDonnell) and Aaron over there. To have them there with me makes me feel right at home. It made it much easier as I was the last one to move over.

"They had already experienced it all so to see what they are going on and doing, it makes you hungry to do the same. Dale scored at Wembley, I'd love to play at Wembley, never mind score there.”