A new three-year contract was the perfect way to cap what has been a remarkable year for Sylvester Jasper.
Blistering form for our Under-18s saw him drafted into the PL2 setup, while he also made three appearances for the First Team.
“I’m extremely proud and happy,” Jasper said of his new deal. “I like the group of players, the team, the coaching staff, they’ve all helped me here, so I was just happy to get everything sorted out so now I can focus on my football.
“I’ve been here since I was in the Under-12s, so this will now be my seventh year at Fulham, and I’ve enjoyed every single moment of it.
“It definitely feels like my home. I know everyone around the Training Ground and they know me. It’s a very welcoming place and I enjoy coming into work every day.
“It was a brilliant season for me, playing through three age groups. I did a lot of learning last season with a lot of new experiences, and hopefully that will help me continue to progress.”
His first taste of senior football came on one of the biggest stages in the country, as he found himself up against the likes of David Silva, Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva at the Etihad Stadium.
“It was amazing,” Jasper said of our FA Cup clash with Manchester City. “I’d never played in front of a crowd that big before. It was a crazy, surreal experience, but I enjoyed every moment.
“I managed to get Sterling’s shirt as well which was very good! I play with these guys on FIFA and watch them on TV, and now I’m playing against them!”
After being invited to join in with First Team training, the 18-year-old was handed two further runouts after lockdown.
He was on the pitch for Josh Onomah’s dramatic late winner against Birmingham City, and he managed to top the dribbling charts against Brentford despite only being on the pitch for seven minutes.
“Someone mentioned that to me, but I don’t really focus too much on those sorts of stats, more about how I play,” he stated. “Of course if they’re positive then that’s all good, but dribbling is a big part of my game, so hopefully there’ll be more of that.
“In the Birmingham game we were pushing, trying to get a goal, trying to create something, and that’s what we managed to do in the end. I felt we deserved the victory, so it was only right that we got the goal at the end.
“When you’re young you always look up to the First Team players and hope that one day maybe you can get there.
“I always had belief and now I’m getting the opportunity, it makes me so happy, and hopefully I can just show what I’ve got now.
“The more you’re in and around it, the more you want to stay there. You just want to prove yourself.
“I feel everything’s going great right now, and that’s a motivation to keep working hard and keep getting those First Team chances.
“When I was younger I used to watch Scott Parker play, and now he’s my Head Coach. There’s so much to learn from him.
“When he joins in the sessions you can see how good a player he is. You always want to watch what he does on the pitch and listen to what he has to say.”
A season Jasper will never forget ended in the perfect way at the start of this month. He wasn’t in the squad for our momentous victory over Brentford, but he and the other youth players who had featured regularly in First Team training were invited to Wembley to support their teammates.
“It was a historic day for the Club, so to just be in and around it was very good,” Jasper said. “It was crazy, you’re witnessing history for the Club, which is beautiful, a beautiful experience.”