David Beckham, Owen Hargreaves and Michael Owen might make good enough role models for any aspiring young English footballer.
Yet they remain part of an exclusive club of players to have worn the Three Lions while playing overseas – and Taylor Moore, who this week joined up with England U17s for the first time, has set his sights on emulating them.
Racing Club Lens midfielder Moore was born in Walthamstow, a stone’s throw from Beckham’s old manor, but the youngster has lived in France since seven, and has immersed himself in the country’s cafe culture.
Even so, Moore is still very much the full English.
The England U17s training in the Algarve
Moore explains: "I was born in London and lived in Walthamstow until the age of seven. My parents decided that we were going to move out to France, initially just for one year to see how it went. But nine years later, we are still there and really enjoying it.
"Me and my three brothers are all now fluent in French and being able to speak two languages is very important in life."
Upon arriving in France, Moore acted quickly in order to continue his love of the game.
"I signed for a small amateur club when I first moved, a team called Etaples, and I played the equivalent of Sunday league. Then I signed for Lens five years ago when I was 12.
“I didn’t know they were watching me at all, they just happened to have someone watching me one day and they asked me if I would like to go training with them. It was an hour and a half away from where my parents live, and they had said I would have to move away to live there if I did, so it was a big decision, but it was no problem.
"I had the support of my parents all the way, and even now, they are always there for me and I always try to make them proud because of that support.”
For one so young, he does not turn 17 until May, the life experience gained so far is rivalled by few – and he believes that Lens has been the perfect place for him to develop both as a player and a person.
“After five years, I feel that Lens is now my home.”
Taylor Moore RC Lens and England U17s
Moore added: "The set-up at the club is very good. They have two different parts, the ‘Pre-formation’ and the ‘Formation’. I started off in the ‘Pre-formation’, where we would spend all day at school and then we would train in the evening.
"Then last year I moved up for my first year in ‘Formation’, and I now stay full-time on the training complex. They know exactly what we eat, when we sleep, they take us to and from school, it’s fantastic.
"School is imposed until you are 18 out there, so every day I am there, except on Wednesdays when we just have a half-day with training in the afternoon. We train every night during the week and we have to be back on the site by 7.30pm every night. We play our matches on a Sunday.
"All the coaches are very good and help me every day in all aspects.
"Lens is a wonderful club that is improving all the time. One of the owners of Athletico Madrid has now invested in the club, and we are rising. They are currently about third in the second division, but every other weekend there are 30,000 turning up to support them, and the atmosphere is very British.
"After five years, I feel that Lens is now my home and especially now that my 13-year-old brother is there with me too at the club in his second year. Fingers-crossed that my two other brothers will soon follow and come along and join us."
Read part two of our exclusive Taylor Moore interview on TheFA.com on Wednesday.
