Vimal Yoganathan is the first Tamil footballer to play professionally in England - one of just a handful of players from a South Asian background employed in the top four leagues. The 18-year-old is praised for his speed, mentality and his ability to play with both feet - but that's not the only thing special about him. Vimal's family comes from Sri Lanka and the midfielder grew up in Trelawnyd, a small village in north Wales. He says he didn't have many friends from a similar background as a child and sometimes "it was a bit difficult".
He said that while his family was welcomed by the community, "there weren't people you could 100% relate to in terms of fitting in to a predominantly white area". It wasn't long before he was scouted by his boyhood club, Liverpool, signing for their academy by the time he was eight.
He went on to join Barnsley's under-16s side and rose through the ranks there. In August, he scored his first senior goals for the League One club and earlier in the year made his debut for the under-19s Welsh national team, coming on as a sub during a clash with Belgium.
At 6ft 3in (191cm), it wasn't just his height that made Vimal stand out at Barnsley, according to the club's academy director Bobby Hassell - but it certainly helped. "He came in at 15 years old, a really tall, gangly, skinny lad - didn't look like a footballer at all in all honesty," he says.
"It was his aggression really that was a stand-out for all the coaches. "You don't generally find 15-year-olds coming in and tackling like he did." In 2023, there were just 22 professional players with South Asian heritage aged 17 or over in England's top four leagues.
Although still small, those figures, from the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA), did show a 29% rise on the previous season - when there had only been 17. "Whenever I'd step on to an academy pitch, I'd be the only brown player and obviously the only Tamil player," says Vimal.
"It almost became normal to me - but that has to change." In 2021, the PFA launched its Asian Inclusion Mentoring Scheme (AIMS), which has supported Vimal in his career so far.
"It shows me how many brown players there are in the game," he says. "And it's grown as well - it's good to see."
Club bosses have been impressed with Vimal's athleticism and see a bright future for him. Bobby says he was aware of the extra pressure on Vimal in terms of representing the British Asian community. "I understand the difficulties in terms of families allowing young players to play soccer," he says.
