| Al-Hamadi was he really this good ? 17:01 - Nov 30 with 965 views | KeithHaynes |
“Take risks and prosper."
The simple but intriguing message Ali Al-Hamadi posted on social media after completing a switch to Wycombe Wanderers summed up the situation he found himself in this year.
The striker left Swansea City in the summer after opting against signing a new contract with the club.
It came after he ended the 2020/21 campaign by winning the Under-23s’ Player of the Year award.
But after failing to see light at the end of the tunnel when it came to his hopes of featuring for the Swans' first team, Al-Hamadi knew it was time to move on to pastures new.
"Last year I was doing quite well I thought," he told WalesOnline.
"I was expecting to have at least a chance with the first team, at least to be on the bench or have someone say to me 'you've done well this season, keep doing what you're doing and you might have more opportunities to train with the first team', but I never had that.
"I always felt a bit underappreciated. However well I was doing, I always felt more overlooked than the other younger lads for some reason and I didn't get why.
"I'm not naive and thinking I'm going to start every Championship game. I just felt if they could promise me an opportunity to prove myself I would stay.
"Steve Cooper was still there at the time. A week or two after I left, he then left. You never know what could have happened if I'd have stayed but you can't really have any regrets.
"I'm driven and I didn't want my career to stall. I want to get to a first team as soon as possible so I took a gamble."
As many players across the globe are discovering, securing a transfer shortly after a pandemic is far from easy.
Al-Hamadi was poised to join Nottingham Forest, although a dramatic change in circumstances at the City Ground ensured a move failed to materialise.
"That was just a matter of getting me in, but the difficult thing was, because Swansea offered me a contract, whatever club I went to had to pay a compensation fee for me which is hard because of Covid and things," explained the forward.
"It's weird because you don't really know how much that fee is because it's not a set fee.
"It was hard for us to tell Forest how much they'd have to spend. I did really well there, the coaches liked me and I did well in the games I played for them.
"It was taking quite a while to get over the line and I realised I couldn't keep waiting around. I asked if they could promise me 100% that they could make the deal happen which they couldn't."
His stint at Forest served to be an indicator of how tough the months that lay ahead were to be.
"I went to Bournemouth with the first team for a week. That was crazy," he explained.
"The standard there was mad. They were doing well at the time in the first few games of the season, but they ended up signing Jamal Lowe on deadline day so that put me out of the question.
"But it wasn't a negative thing, I gained a lot out of it. It was good to be in that environment.
"Then I went to Derby. That was good as well, I was doing well with the Under-23s then I got the chance to train with their first team.
"Steve McClaren liked me there and I think he wanted to sign me, but then two days before they were going to give me a decision they went into administration.
"I've had some bad timing and bad luck. But luckily, Swansea have said they were willing to let me go for free, as long as there was a sell-on clause.
"I went to Bristol Rovers to keep my fitness up, Stockport County as well."
Impressing Gareth Ainsworth became Al-Hamadi's prime aim as the 2021/22 campaign continued to tick by, with the frontman still eager to find a new home.
Al-Hamadi stayed in various locations around the United Kingdom, including at the house of Swansea winger Jordon Garrick - who is currently on loan with Plymouth Argyle - as he continued his pursuit to impress sufficiently to be offered a contract.
The arduous efforts proved to be draining for the 19-year-old.
"Mentally, it's been the toughest period of my life in terms of dealing with the challenge," said the teenager.
"Most of my belongings were in Swansea, but I've been living in Jordon Garrick's house.
"I packed things for two weeks thinking 'this will be done and dusted' and then move. I was going back to Liverpool and staying with my family and I'm staying in London right now. I've been all over the place."
But it swiftly became apparent that a move to Adams Park was the right move for Al-Hamadi - who will remain with the Chairboys until the summer of 2023.
"I'm closer to a first team than I would have been if I stayed at Swansea so I've still made some progress," he stated.
"Wycombe don't have an Under-23s team, so the whole squad trains together. You're in the eye line of the manager and you've got that opportunity to get into the first team which is what you want."
So the focus is now on the future and not the past for Al-Hamadi who recently addressed the "hurtful and simply untrue" social media rumours regarding his Swans exit.
And while certain online messages left the forward feeling somewhat dismayed, Al-Hamadi was quick to show his gratitude to the club he joined from Tranmere Rovers in 2018.
"It was annoying to see fans saying certain things like 'I've heard he's big time and it's about money'. It's frustrating to think some people think that," he concluded.
"I loved my time there. They've developed me as a player and as a person as well.
"I owe a lot to Swansea and it wasn't an easy thing for me to leave, I just had to make that decision for my own career."
In leaving south Wales, Al-Hamadi has taken the biggest risk of his career to date. And the striker's sole aim is now to ensure Swansea's loss is Wycombe's gain.
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| Al-Hamadi was he really this good ? on 17:13 - Nov 30 with 940 views | Kilkennyjack |
Never heard of him … sorry. 🤷â€â™‚ï¸ |  |
| Beware of the Risen People
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| Al-Hamadi was he really this good ? on 17:44 - Nov 30 with 897 views | KeithHaynes |
| Al-Hamadi was he really this good ? on 17:13 - Nov 30 by Kilkennyjack |
Never heard of him … sorry. 🤷â€â™‚ï¸ |
He has plenty to say 😂 | |
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| Al-Hamadi was he really this good ? on 17:46 - Nov 30 with 891 views | jasper_T |
Quite a few of the much younger lads were getting chances to train with the first team at the back end of last season (when they weren't busy with exams) so you can see why your average self-confident footballer in the u23s might be a bit frustrated and not getting the nod.
Always looked very raw/limited when I saw him, did have a good run of goalscoring form but it's not like he'd built up a genuine head of steam in u23s football due to injuries. The contract/compensation issue does cause young players issues but it did make sense to offer him another year to give him a fair crack at it. |  | | |
| Al-Hamadi was he really this good ? on 18:01 - Nov 30 with 877 views | KeithHaynes |
| Al-Hamadi was he really this good ? on 17:46 - Nov 30 by jasper_T |
Quite a few of the much younger lads were getting chances to train with the first team at the back end of last season (when they weren't busy with exams) so you can see why your average self-confident footballer in the u23s might be a bit frustrated and not getting the nod.
Always looked very raw/limited when I saw him, did have a good run of goalscoring form but it's not like he'd built up a genuine head of steam in u23s football due to injuries. The contract/compensation issue does cause young players issues but it did make sense to offer him another year to give him a fair crack at it. |
For me, it’s obvious he knew he was well down the pecking order, even if he was on it.
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| Al-Hamadi was he really this good ? on 19:28 - Nov 30 with 800 views | michu |
Watched him several times in the 18’s & 23’s. Very powerful, created lots of chances but missed way more than he scored. Nowhere near clinical enough unfortunately. | | | |
| Al-Hamadi was he really this good ? on 16:18 - Dec 1 with 594 views | ReslovenSwan1 |
| Al-Hamadi was he really this good ? on 17:46 - Nov 30 by jasper_T |
Quite a few of the much younger lads were getting chances to train with the first team at the back end of last season (when they weren't busy with exams) so you can see why your average self-confident footballer in the u23s might be a bit frustrated and not getting the nod.
Always looked very raw/limited when I saw him, did have a good run of goalscoring form but it's not like he'd built up a genuine head of steam in u23s football due to injuries. The contract/compensation issue does cause young players issues but it did make sense to offer him another year to give him a fair crack at it. |
He wpuld have been further from the first team as ever. Joseph, Obafemi, Whittaker and Cullen want to join Piroe up front. 6th choice. |  |
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