He’s 22, plays in the English League, and wants to represent Singapore

Defender Sirina Camara, midfielder Song Ui Yong and striker Jordan Webb are often bandied about as possible candidates for national coach V. Sundramoorthy to consider for the Lions under the Foreign Talent Scheme. But there is already a young promising English midfielder playing in England’s League Two who can immediately play for Singapore because his Singaporean grandfather. TODAY’s Adrian Clarke meets with the 22-year-old Wycombe Wanderers midfielder...

LONDON - If Wycombe Wanderers manager Gareth Ainsworth could, he’d love to have 11 Luke O’Niens playing for him on the pitch.

Then again, maybe not so many.

“Actually, I think that may get a bit chaotic. They’d probably end up fighting each other because they all wanted to do the most, and be the best,” said the 44-year-old gaffer with a laugh as I quizzed him about the ambitious young man who’s dreaming of an international call-up to the Singapore team.

“This boy is so driven, he’s probably one of the most driven players I’ve come across in my football career, which is amazing as I’ve come across a lot of people.”

Now that’s some claim from a man who played for 10 clubs in a 22-year professional career in midfield, including a spell in the Premier League with Wimbledon, as well as with Queens Park Rangers and Cardiff City.

A couple of minutes later, O’Nien himself - fresh from a voluntary pre-training swim - practically bounces into the room where we are gathered with a beaming smile, high-fiving those that greet him along the way.

The room doubles up as a media centre and a player recreation area.

O’Nien skips past a huddle of journalists and skirts around a well-worn table tennis table to sit down for a chat with me at a rather untidy desk perched in the corner.

His grandfather, Lim Cheng Siong, is the younger brother of the late Lim Kim San, Singapore’s former Minister for National Development.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, in a roundabout way, was the purpose of my visit to Wycombe’s small, but endearing training centre.

It is this precious family tie, maintained by his mother Monica, who is half-Singaporean and half-English, that enables O’Nien to qualify to represent V. Sundramoorthy’s national team - if he is ever called up by the Dazzler.

So, who is he?

The 22-year-old has shone in English football’s fourth tier for the past two seasons, building a reputation as one of the most hardworking and versatile engine room specialists at that level.

In fact, he was so impressive in his first season at Wycombe in 2015/2016, playing 40 games and scoring five goals as Wycombe finished 13th in the 24-team league, that he was named the club’s Young Player of the Year, and rewarded with a three-year contract.

This season, he was a first-11 regular again, playing 39 games, and finding the net thrice as Wycombe ended the season in ninth spot.

His four games in the FA Cup included excellent displays against Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur which have also enhanced his growing status.

Ainsworth reckons the 1.74-metre tall O’Nien is “definitely capable of playing football at Championship level”, the second tier of the English game. But for now, the former Watford trainee is just hoping for an opportunity to prove himself on the international scene.

“I’m not sure if the Football Association of Singapore is aware of who I am, or if they have an interest in coming to watch me play, but I really hope they do,” he says with a glint in his eye.

“Any footballer would be honoured to represent their national team, and it would make my mum so proud to play for Singapore.

“I’d like to think I’m ready for it.

“I checked out the fixture list and have looked at pictures of where they play. My family from Singapore came over not too long ago, and we spent hours talking about the national team, the lovely new stadium, and the great atmosphere generated by the fans.

“It has whetted my appetite, and fuelled my desire to get involved.”

O’Nien comes from strong sporting stock.

His father, Terry, is a former professional golfer, his elder brother represented Great Britain Universities at cricket, and his sister has also played hockey for Team GB’s junior teams.

According to Luke, his mum was ‘a very good netball player’ too.

I asked if it was his childhood that shaped the extreme competitiveness his manager had earlier described.

He chuckled. “Yes, being the youngest in a sporty family has made me extra determined I think,” he said.

“I’m just very passionate about what I do, whether it’s in any sport, training, the warm ups, or the match itself.

“I just want to be on the winning team. That’s who I am.”

As the conversation develops, it becomes apparent I’m not sat opposite your standard every day footballer.

He doesn’t clock off at lunchtime and head straight to the golf course like many other pros. Instead, keen to make the best of his abilities, O’Nien dedicates his full days to the pursuit of personal development.

“I read a book a while ago on Team GB’s success in track cycling and it was all about marginal gains,” he said.

“It talks about looking for minor details, and finding the extra one per cent in them. Collectively, if you put all of them together, you can get so much better. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

At the age of 16, when his request to study Mathematics at A Level was declined by Watford, the club he was with then, he took private lessons to learn French instead. The midfielder has since taken up Spanish as a third language.

Not content with linguistic education, the Wycombe midfielder has also had guitar lessons, and is currently teaching himself to play the piano via YouTube tutorials.

When he’s not studying or doing extra practice at the training ground, O’Nien can also be found coaching the local Under-10s and Under-18 teams whenever time permits. For his community work, he was named Wycombe’s Community Player of the Year this season.

“I love coaching because it’s helped me with my communication. You have to learn the right way to talk, and that’s a new skill,” he said.

“If you let your mind become stagnant, it can reflect negatively in your performance on the pitch. So my belief is that it’s important to challenge the mind, and keep on working it.

“Those players who think the fastest do well. Speed of mind is crucial in football.”

When asked what sort of player he would describe himself, O’Nien said: “I’m a highly energetic player that loves to attack and defend. That’s why I think I fit the role of a box to box midfielder.

“I love defending. I love breaking up play. If the other team has it I will always have it in my mind to win it back straight away, but I’ve also played as the attacking midfielder or as the sitting one.

“The manager knows he can use me in different roles. If he thinks I’ll be of better use going forward in a certain game, I’ll be his attacking midfielder, but he’ll also use me further back in front of the back four. This season I’ve played mostly as a box-to-box midfielder in a three.”

Turning our attention back to international football, I asked if he has any doubts over adjusting to a contrasting style of play, say with the Singapore national team.

Without missing a beat, he replied: “I’ve played around 40 games this season, and about 80 in total for Wycombe, and can safely say every single match has been different, so I am not worried about how different international football might be.

“You’ve got to read every match as it happens. Sometimes, they will be free flowing, sometimes the ball won’t touch the floor for 20 minutes.

“For me, it’s all about winning the individual battle with my direct opponent, and that’s the same whatever type of contest it is.

“Playing here at Wycombe with so many experienced players has taught me so much about adaptability, so I’d like to think I could adjust to any style.

“If the day ever comes around when I get the call from Singapore, I know I will have worked as hard as I could to make sure I am right and ready for that moment.”

And I have no doubts he will be. Luke O’Nien’s inner drive really is something special.

Read former Arsenal player Adrian Clarke’s assessment of Luke O’Nien’s playing abilities here