The Reuell Walters story
With Arsenal behind him, the England youth international opens up on mental health, injuries, and finally being free of the bench.
This is the first half of a two-part series on Reuell Walters. The second, a technical interview on Walter’s process on the pitch, will be published in the coming days.
Why pay for an escape room when you can spend a morning searching for Luton Town’s training ground? It’s hidden away up the M1, between streets of terraced housing and a knot of ALDI and Premier Inn parking lots (I know, because I spent 25 minutes circling them, trying to find the entrance).
The surroundings are hardly auspicious, but there’s something warm and familiar about the Championship club’s facilities. I wish I could say the same for the meeting room in which I sat down with Reuell Walters - luckily conversation began to flow as our feet defrosted, regardless of the November cold.
Walters left Arsenal more than six months ago. He moved half an hour north, to London’s outskirts, and down one tier of the English pyramid. After spending a year predominantly on Premier League benches, he started life in the Championship as a regular starter before injury struck him down. When we speak, he’s still recovering from a broken foot that’s, so far, kept him out for months and will for a few weeks yet. He returned over Christmas, in a 2-1 loss to Swansea.
With Reuell, or Reu as he likes to be known, it only felt right to start at the beginning. Walters is a person who has typically done things his own way. He was homeschooled; he made the infamous North London switch from Tottenham Hotspur to Arsenal; he took a break from football despite making strides toward a professional career; he left Arsenal with a new contract in the offing and the first team within reach.
As we spoke, all this congealed into a theme. It has never mattered to Reuell Walters what others are doing or what is conventional - he has consistently taken the route he felt was right for him, even if it careened off the beaten path.
This is that story, in his words.
This story is now behind our paywall.
SCOUTED is independent magazine charting the future of football: real, quality writing for the readers who want to go deeper, and believe this corner of the game deserves a dedicated outlet. Paid support from our subscribers is the only thing keeping our publication, the livelihood of a team of three friends, alive and kicking.
Please consider subscribing to get our weekly newsletters - Monday Night SCOUTED and SCOUT NOTES - drop directly into your inbox, alongside special stories like this one.
Despite the odd year in both primary and secondary school, Reuell Walters was mostly homeschooled by parents Aisha and Raphael, who are both present when we speak. I wondered how missing school - usually such a fundamental experience for the development of any young person - might have manifested in the man before me.
“Honestly, that’s what we found worked best for us,” the 20-year-old explains. “I’m quite a shy person, my personality is more introverted and I found the social aspect of school quite overwhelming. It wasn’t about making friends, I just felt more comfortable in my own space.”
“We’ve always been quite an open family,” adds Raphael, who was kind enough to stand-in as my photographer for the day [in a horrible twist of fate, Tom had his first sick day of the year on its most important day - ed]. “We’re happy to give our input but things should be a conversation, not just us telling our kids what to do.”
Naturally, being homeschooled meant no school team to play for, but his talent shone through at Sunday league outfit Peckham Town regardless. There, he caught the attention of Jamie Waller, a coach who had recently left Crystal Palace to set up an independent training academy called Unique FA.
Waller later described Walters as a “sponge” due to his ability to absorb information. He also acknowledged the youngster’s raw technicality and fierce competitiveness - qualities which would have appealed to higher level coaches at the time.
“If you speak to Jamie, I'll always remember one of his last reviews,” says Aisha. “They would always end the sessions (at Unique) with some questions and Reu answered one with such a mature response that everyone just burst out laughing.
“He’s always been very mature from a young age, and not just on an academic level but his general approach to things. He’s always been able to look at situations objectively.”
Reuell Walters finished #37 in this year’s SCOUTED50 - our list of the top talents to watch this season.
Waller - who was also working as a technical match consultant for the Premier League - recommended both Chelsea and Tottenham as options for Walters’ future. The family eventually opted for Spurs.
But things could have been very different. By all accounts, Walters made a strong impression at Hotspur Way. He excelled playing in and against higher age groups, his development skyrocketed and scouts from other Premier League clubs were starting to take notice. But something, to 15-year-old Reu, felt wrong.
He pulled his dad aside one night and did something most teenagers wouldn’t dream of doing: he disclosed a difficult, sensitive issue to his parents. He wasn’t happy. The moment led to discussions about the direction of his young career.
Keen to put myself in his shoes, I ask what was swirling around in his head back then. I can’t imagine what it was like to not only feel disconnected from the sport he loves but be so unhappy he was willing to risk an opportunity - to play in a Premier League academy - many would be desperate for. His response was typically measured.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to SCOUTED Notebook to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.