Deniche Hill got much more than he bargained for after answering the call for national duty earlier this year.

It was while training and making his debut with the senior national team during their Concacaf Nations League matches in June that the 18-year-old was scouted by Leicester City under-23 coach Ben Petty.

“Being scouted by Leicester while playing for Bermuda came as a big surprise to me,” Hill told The Royal Gazette.

“Often times if you are scouted by a Premier League club you are most likely playing in England, so to be seen playing for my country came as a real eye-opener for me.”

Hill was among a group of Bermuda under-20 players called up to challenge for a spot in the national team and coach Kyle Lightnourne was impressed with Hill’s talent.

“He was in the under-20s with Cecoy [under-20 national coach Cecoy Robinson] and it was a few of them that we had identified to make the step up to senior level and we had a couple of them that came in,” Lightbourne said.

“He had an opportunity to play for the national team and he chose to come home and play. We had a coach from Leicester here in Ben Petty and that opportunity came and that’s how it happens for people sometimes.

“I think in professional sports you have to take that one opportunity that comes sometimes. When they come along you have to be ready and they come when you least expect it.

“I think with Deniche coming back and looking to play for his national team, the last thing he would have been thinking is it’s going to be a coach in Bermuda that’s going to spot me and give me an opportunity to train and play at a Premier League club so it’s amazing how it happened.

“He got scouted here because I had Ben her and I thank the Bermuda Football Association for bringing him in.”

Hill went on to make his senior debut for Bermuda in a goalless draw against Haiti at Flora Duffy Stadium in their opening match in group B of Nations League B level.

Convinced that Hill had potential, Petty invited the promising player to train with Leicester City during pre-season.

“He got invited back to train with Leicester and he’s done really well there,” Lightbourne added.

“He’s got a lot of pace, is a left-footed player and he also fitted in with what Ben was looking for with his team as well.”

Determined to grasp his opportunity, the son of former Dandy Town and Bermuda forward Corey Hill impressed the coaching staff when playing in two friendlies with the first team and during several appearances for the club’s under-21 side.

All of the hard work, dedication and sacrifices Hill made ultimately paid off as he was signed by the club.

“To reach this milestone in my career is a massive achievement for myself,” he said. “Earning myself a professional contract has always been a dream of mine and now I can finally say I have achieved it.

“To reach such a milestone has taken a lot of sacrifices; starting with my father training and putting the hard hours with me every day since I was five to spending thousands of pounds to keep me in England, travelling up and down the country to try and get me seen by clubs.”

Hill groomed his skills playing for local side Hamilton Parish before moving to England two years ago to further his education and football career at Brooke House College, who run a full-time football academy programme headed up by technical director Micky Adams, the former City manager and Southampton full-back.

Hill’s father also holds close ties with the boarding school as a recruitment agent and doubles up as scout for the Bermuda Football Association.

While delighted with the latest development in Hill’s career, Lightbourne, himself a former professional with several English clubs, knows the hard work has only just begun.

“The future looks bright but he needs to realise this is the beginning and he needs to keep improving as time goes on,” he said. “In order to stay at that level you need to keep improving so that’s what they will be looking for from him.

“His coach [Petty] is a former team-mate of mine at Stoke City so I speak with him regularly to see how he is doing and hopefully there’s more opportunities for Bermudian players in the future. It’s a great opportunity and hopefully it will inspire other youngsters to want to be able to get that opportunity.”

Hill has been well received at the East Midlands club.

“Since I arrived the hospitality and professionalism around the club is second to none and the facilities are state of the art,” he said. “Leicester are a massive club and it shows around the training ground.”

The player says the transition to the English game has been a challenging one.

“The transition from local football to football in the UK has been a complex one,” Hill added. “As you know football at home is amateur while out here, where I am at now, it’s professional.

“It is a big step up in all aspects, whether it be the food I eat or showing up on time. Everything including on the pitch is 100 times more complex.

“The play is much faster and you don’t have time to dribble and dabble on the ball like you might have back home, so the game here requires you to think quicker and make quick decisions.”

Like any player, Hill has set himself goals he hopes to fulfil.

“My ultimate goal as a professional would obviously be to play in the Premier League consistently and hopefully break into the national team as a regular,” he said.

“I aspire to become the first Bermudian to play in the Champions League and hopefully one day win it.”