Brentford B’s most recent arrival Ethan Laidlaw feels it's the right time to make the move to Brentford after putting pen to paper on a two-year contract with a club option of another year.
Ethan makes the switch to West London from boyhood club Hibernian where he rose through the ranks at the their academy after joining at the age of eight-years-old.
The Scottish striker explained how much he is looking forward to getting started at his new club and why he felt it was time for a new challenge.
“I’m really excited, obviously it’s a big challenge for me as I’ve never been out of Scotland,” said Ethan. “I just feel that it’s the right time for me to go on a new adventure and see how it goes.
"It’s been good getting to know how we like to play, it’s a different style to what I’m used to, a more technical style, but I think it suits me down to the ground and it’s been good to get to know the rest of the boys on a footballing level as well as a personal level.”
Despite making the tough decision to leave his boyhood club, Ethan says that watching the way Brentford have progressed as a club in recent years made it appealing to sign for the Bees, and he pointed to the variety of experiences that the B team offers to their young players as a key factor in his decision.
He continued: “When a club like Brentford comes in for you, I don’t think there would be too many people who would say no. The way that the club’s going on a first team level and on a B team level shows that.
"Last year the B team were playing teams like the Ukraine national team and I don’t think you would get many other young sides getting them opportunities.”
The youngster joins Brentford having played for his country across two different age groups, most notably scoring a hat-trick on his debut for Scotland’s Under-17s against Wales. Ethan hopes his performances with the young Bees will see him maintain his international involvement.
“Every player wants to play for their country, I played at the Under-17s European Championships with Scotland which was a great experience, said the forward. "I’m under-19s now so hopefully I can earn a call-up by playing well for Brentford.
“I’m a player who wears his heart on his sleeve and I play with a lot of emotion which I wouldn’t change because I’d be taking away a lot of my abilities. I like to get the ball down which is why I’m here because it suits me the way that we play, I’m just a player who will give his all and always try his best.”