Just two goalkeepers under the age of 25 have started Premier League matches this season – Brighton & Hove Albion’s Bart Verbruggen and Leicester City’s Mads Hermansen. This means many keepers like Terry have to be loaned out to find minutes on the pitch.
Last season Terry found himself at Concord Rangers where he won player of the year and this year he joined National League South side AFC Hornchurch. He spoke to the club website about how important the loan experience is for his development.
“At Concord, it was unreal for my development, to go out and get that experience and be involved in every game was brilliant for my career and helped me get the move to Hornchurch for this season. They had a few eyes on me through the season, watching my games, and obviously the game against Hornchurch was when they were going for the league title and I made eight or nine saves and we only conceded from a set piece from the last kick of the game.”
This year he takes a step up against sides which have played in the Football League and the National League in recent years.
“Yeah, you’ve got teams like Boreham Wood, Torquay, Dorking Wanderers, Maidstone and Weymouth. I’m really enjoying it. I’ve stepped up a level and I’ve now played 19 games in all competitions and I’ve noticed the level is higher and the crowds are bigger. We played Maidstone last weekend and there were over 2,000 there, so it was like a Football League game. Their fans were getting on to me and there was pressure to perform, so obviously that was another test for me to deal with.”