Ipswich Town signed forward Tyreece John-Jules on a season-long loan from Arsenal last week. STUART WATSON looks at the 21-year-old's career so far.
YOUNG GUN
Born in Westminster, Central London, Tyreece John-Jules joined Arsenal at the age of eight after being spotted playing for Charlton.
In October 2017, aged just 16, he scored on his debut for the Gunners’ U23s in a 3-2 defeat to Tottenham.
In that same season he scored in victories over Liverpool and Middlesbrough during a run to the FA Youth Cup Final, playing alongside Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka and recent Town loanee Dominic Thompson.
Upon signing a pro deal on his 17th birthday, John-Jules said: “Growing up, I idolised Thierry Henry because I used to follow him and Arsenal. Now he’s my coach.
“He’s taught me about movement and timing, and obviously gave me tips on finishing when we did striker drills.”
TRANSITIONAL SEASON
In the summer of 2018, John-Jules played for England in the European U17 Championship. The Three Lions exited the competition at the semi-final stage via a penalty shootout to Holland.
“When I’m asked what my main strengths are I have to say they’re my finishing, strength and link-up play,” he told Arsenal's club website.
“I’m reasonably quick but I’m working on getting quicker. I spend a lot of time with the fitness coach because adding pace makes a striker more dangerous.
“I score goals with both feet as I’m comfortable shooting with left or right. That’s an advantage as defenders don’t know which way to show me. Being two-footed is important. From a very young age I worked hard - and still do - on developing my left foot as I’m naturally right-footed.”
His first taste of men’s football came in EFL Trophy matches at Coventry, Cheltenham, Forest Green and Portsmouth.
Some impressive displays for Freddie Ljungberg’s U23s led to Unai Emery selecting him as part of a 23-man squad that went to Dubai for a warm weather training camp in March. John-Jules scored minutes after coming on in a friendly against Al Nasr.
NEW DEAL, FIRST LOAN
In the summer of 2019, John-Jules signed a new contract with Arsenal (length not disclosed).
He continued to further his reputation with the U23s (by now under Steve Bould’s management). Another EFL Trophy goal arrived in the form of an equaliser at Cambridge United.
After a 3-1 win at Tottenham in November, the Daily Cannon wrote of John-Jules' performance: “The 18-year-old had plenty of chances on the night, and he’ll be a little disappointed he didn’t put one away, but the important thing was that they kept falling to him.
“As always, John-Jules pressed the opposition defence into mistakes, he drew free-kicks in dangerous areas by shielding the ball well and he brought the wingers into play impressively. His all-around play remains more of a selling point for him than just goals.”
An unused first team sub in games against Chelsea and Leeds just after Christmas, Mikel Arteta sent John-Jules out on loan to League One side Lincoln City in January.
“He needs to go and prove himself now, and he needs to challenge himself,” said the Spaniard.
“He’s probably in a very comfortable environment here but he needs to get exposed and after that we’ll see where he is.
“He can do everything. He links really well on the ball every time he is out of the No.9 position, he’s got a really good ability to do that.”
Handed the No.9 shirt at Sincil Bank, John-Jules linked up with Nottingham Forest loanee Tyler Walker in attack.
“If I said there were a few clubs interested in him, I’d be playing it down a little bit,” said boss Michael Appleton.
“It comes down to the trust Arsenal have in us as a club to look after him.
“Tyreece could be anything. Don’t be surprised if you see him as Arsenal’s number nine in the future.
“That’s message we got from Arsenal when we were speaking to them. That’s how important they see this loan and why they felt they needed to get it right. We feel privileged that they’ve chosen us.
“He’s a bright kid, very humble. He’s got good pace. He wants to run in behind and is a fantastic finisher. He’s desperate to do well.”
One goal in seven starts for the Imps followed, a cool finish against Blackpool, before the front man fractured a bone in his foot playing in a friendly against Sheffield United.
“It’s a massive blow for him, for us, the players, the squad, everybody,” said Appleton. “I hope he gets himself sorted as quickly as he can.”
The season was soon curtailed due to Covid.
WEMBLEY AND GOAL OF THE MONTH
John-Jules was an unused sub as Arsenal beat Liverpool on penalties in the 2020 Community Shield at Wembley. The following month, he joined Doncaster Rovers on a season-long loan.
Darren Moore, whose team was looking to build on a ninth place finish in League One, said: “There was some real fierce competition for him at this level. We had to be persistent with it and I’m really pleased to get it over the line.
“He’ll be a wonderful acquisition. We’ll work hard to improve him and hand him back to Arsenal a better player.”
On his second outing for the South Yorkshire club, John-Jules wrapped up a 3-1 win at Charlton with a strike that would claim the EFL Goal of the Month award. Picking the ball up just outside the box he jinked between two defenders before slamming a shot high into the net.
“I didn’t have a lot of options on so I thought I had to do something to create a bit of space and get a shot off,” he said.
“I hadn’t really had a shot all game so I thought I’ve got to try and work something here so I tried it and I’m happy it came off. It’ll be the first of many hopefully.”
Further goals followed against Hull and Northampton as Doncaster hit some good form, but then John-Jules then pulled up with a hamstring injury during a mid-December victory against Swindon.
“We anticipate that he’s going to possibly miss two to three months of the campaign,” said Moore.
“It’s a sad loss for us, with a player of that ilk and quality.
“We’ll keep the loan alive to show from our side that if he makes that speedy recovery then he knows that there is an opportunity for him to come back and still have a part to play this season.”
Initially eased back in as an impact sub in April, John-Jules was able to start four end-of-season matches.
He departed having netted five goals in 15 starts and six sub appearances as Rovers finished 14th.
CHAMPIONSHIP FRUSTRATION
John-Jules' performances were enough to convince newly-promoted Championship club Blackpool to take him on loan last summer.
“I’ve spent the last couple of seasons on loan in League One and wanted to challenge myself at the next level and there’s no better place to come than Blackpool to do just that,” he said.
Manager Neil Critchley added: “He’s an attacking player who brings plenty of creativity, whether that be with goals or assists and he will fit in with the work ethic we have here in the squad.”
The striker failed to score in nine starts and three sub appearances though, falling down the pecking order by mid-October and eventually being recalled by Arsenal in January.
In an article titled ‘what went wrong for Tyreece John-Jules at Blackpool?’, Lancashire Live praised his positional sense but added: “Only once in 11 appearances did John-Jules have a pass success rate of more than 70% which speaks to the slack play and indecisive decision-making that made him a frustrating figure to watch at Bloomfield Road.”
ANOTHER INJURY
John-Jules subsequently returned to League One in January this year, linking back up with Darren Moore at Sheffield Wednesday.
He came on for the last 18 minutes of a 1-0 win against Ipswich at Hillsborough on January 29 only to suffer a quad injury that would rule him out for the remainder of the campaign.
After joining Town on a season-long loan last Wednesday, John-Jules didn’t feature in the opening pre-season win at Needham Market.
Boss Kieran McKenna explained: “He’s just someone we want to build in slowly. We know he's coming off the back of a medium to long-term injury. He's a player we need to be patient with.
“He's a top talent who, if we can get him to the top level of robustness, is going to be really good addition.”
Upon signing the 21-year-old, the Northern Irishman said: "He’s a really talented and versatile forward who can play in a number of different positions. He has a really high technical level and can play off of both feet.
"If he can get a consistent run of form, then he is an extremely talented player with very high potential. We’re very excited to have him on board."
DID YOU KNOW?
John-Jules has represented England at every age level from U16s to U21s. His debut for the 21s came in a 2-0 European Championship qualification win over Kosovo at Stadium MK last September.
The versatile front man remains eligible to represent Dominica, his grandparents having come to the UK from the Caribbean Island as part of the Windrush generation.
His uncle is Danny John-Jules, the actor best known for playing ‘Cat’ in popular 90s sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf and appearing on Strictly Come Dancing.
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