John Murtough, academy manager at English Premier League club Fulham, was this week impressed by the professionalism and organisation of the Old Mutual soccer academy in Pinelands.

Fulham sent Murtough to Cape Town after being approached by former Chelsea midfielder Richard Gomes.

Gomes, an ardent believer in local talent, has been resident in the Mother City for 20 years. After seeing European clubs such as Ajax Amsterdam and FC Copenhagen set up partnership agreements with local clubs, he was eager to get an English club involved at grassroots level in Cape Town.

It is a venture, he hopes, that will eventually result in promising youngsters being spotted and being allowed to develop further with the assistance of the English club.

And Gomes is not ashamed to say he has, unabashedly, been knocking on many doors in England to get the ball rolling.

It's here where Fulham came into the picture - and the London club directed Murtough to run the rule over the Old Mutual soccer academy, with a view to a possible link up in the future.

"This was a fact-finding mission," said Murtough. "But what I've seen this week was impressive. All credit to all involved in the academy, they've really done well.

"Essentially my club Fulham asked me to come out and have a look. We have a super track record with home grown talent. Because Fulham doesn't have the money of the big clubs in England, we have to be financially self-sufficient. And that is why our emphasis is on talent identification and the development thereof.

"It's obviously a slow process and that's what I've tried to bring across to the coaches at the Old Mutual academy."

Murtough also spent a few hours at a soccer clinic in a Stellenbosch township and he was "blown away" by the raw ability of the kids.

"The passion and love for soccer slaps you in the face," he said. "I was bowled over by the enthusiasm of the lads.

"But potential is the starting point. The trick is to harness that talent, and what I did this week was to give local coaches some tips on how to do it. We shared ideas and it was a fruitful exercise."

Murtough has a masters degree in sports science from Liverpool's John Moores University. He previously spent seven years at Everton before becoming academy manager at Fulham. Under his tutelage, the Fulham academy has developed into one of the most successful in England.

The Old Mutual Academy is run by Barry Busch, with John Rowley as the director of coaching. Other coaches involved are former professional players Roger Links (under-15) and Randall Arendse (under-13). Terry Cunningham, previously one of the youth coaches at Hellenic, is responsible for the academy's under-17 team.