"The last goal that I scored for Burnley will never leave my mind," says ex-Manchester United wonderkid John Cofie

Never in a million years would he have expected the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and a whole host of other elite clubs to have been circling for his signature - especially at such a young age.

The Ghanaian forward, born in Aboso, had almost accepted that his future belonged in the Armed Forces after spending much of his childhood on a military base.

He had moved to barracks in Monchengladbach with his family as an eight-year-old where his father, Samuel, was stationed.

He would kick a ball for fun with other kids at Rheindahlen - the main headquarters for British forces in Germany and for the NATO Northern Army Group - before starting to take part in semi-competitive games.

That's where the Clarets come in. "My Dad was in the army so we were based in Germany at the time," said Cofie.

"We started a new life there. As an army kid I went to school there, but everything was in English. We lived in a camp and lived an English life.

"We lived in Monchengladbach and Gutersloh so we were based in two places. It was fantastic to live in Germany, it was a really nice country and it was good to be with all the army kids.

"Before I moved over to Germany to join my Mum [Dinah] and Dad I'd never thought about becoming a footballer.

"I'd always wanted to join the army until my Dad went to war in Iraq. My Mum didn't sleep for months so I didn't want to be doing that. I changed my mind quickly."

He added: "We used to do this thing with the army kids where every summer Burnley would always come over and run a programme.

"One summer we played against them, they liked me and they ended up speaking to my Mum and Dad. They had a game against Monchengladbach and they wanted me to play.

"I played and we annihilated them. After that it was Monchengladbach who wanted me to sign for them, before Burnley had had a sniff.

"That would have been the better option to take given that I was living in Germany, but my Dad spoke to my Godfather, who was in Liverpool, and he asked him what he thought about Burnley.

"He told him that it was a good opportunity so we told Burnley that we were interested."

Cofie would fly into Manchester Airport every fortnight to meet Burnley FC youth coach Jeff Taylor, who would then chauffeur the 13-year-old to his accommodation.

The forward would play for the club's Under 14s on a Saturday afternoon, score goals freely, return home the following day and then repeat the process.

Cofie recalled: "You have kids who started playing football at an early age - from being five/six/seven - and that's when they start their careers and learn about the game. I didn't start football properly until I came to Burnley at 13.

"I would fly over every two weeks to play in home matches for Burnley. That was incredible and a surreal experience. I really enjoyed it, it was fun and everybody at Burnley was really good to me."

Former Clarets centre back Vince Overson was tasked with overseeing Cofie's development, which continued to move at a rate of knots.

The prolific striker would play alongside the likes of Alex-Ray Harvey, Ben Hoskin and Dominic Knowles before teaming up with Jay Rodriguez Under 18 level.

"Burnley was good, the coaches and the lads made me feel welcome, they taught me everything that they could," he said. "I'm eager and I love football so I just wanted to play and enjoy it.

"I started playing for Burnley's Under 14s and played about 10 games and every time I was scoring about seven or eight goals.

"Vince pulled me and said 'this is getting ridiculous' and told me that he was going to have to move me up an age group.

"He moved me to the Under 16s and I was literally doing the same thing. He moved me again so at the age of 13 I was playing Under 18s football.

"It was fine for me, I still enjoyed it, I was still scoring goals, obviously not as many as I had been doing for the younger age groups, so that's how my Burnley career was going. It was amazing.

"When I'm happy it doesn't really matter where I am. When I'm enjoying myself that's when I play my best football.

"I was really happy there and every changing room that I went into I was made to feel more than welcome."

Cofie signed off in some style, replicating what the likes of David Beckham and Xabi Alonso had done before him.

Wayne Rooney, Charlie Adam and Manuel Figueroa have also done it since. In his final outing for the reserves, Cofie netted a winner from the halfway line.

"The last goal that I scored for Burnley will never leave my mind," he said. "I can still see it now. I was a 13-year-old playing for the Under 18s and we won the game 1-0.

"I chipped the goalkeeper from the halfway line at Gawthorpe, it was amazing. That was my last and greatest memory from my time at Burnley.

"I can sit here and say that in my whole football life that moment is right up there. You want to remember those happy times in your life! The goal was sensational and I really enjoyed it."

That's when things started to change. The Moorland School pupil had high-profile managers showing up at the secluded spot in order to make their pitch.

Jose Mourinho had expressed an interest, Rafa Benitez was willing to part with £250,000 to land the youngster, but it was Sir Alex Ferguson that would eventually secure the services of one of the hottest prospects in the game. The reported fee - £1.25m.

"The whole process was just so quick It was mad. People would dream to have the life that I've lived. Football is football to me, I've always just played it for fun.

"I never sat back to think about what was going on. I was just a normal kid and I just wanted to enjoy the sport that I loved.

"It [the price tag] did not bother me one bit. It didn't bother me in the slightest. There was all this hype, but just give me a ball and I'll play. It was that simple.

"I'm a very honest guy, but only Burnley and United know what was spoken about with regards to deals. I didn't sit there and think 'it's Manchester United, I have to go'.

"It didn't bother me one bit so when that offer came in it made no difference to me. I just left it to whoever was dealing with it."

At the time Burnley boss Steve Cotterill had been quoted as saying: "To be honest, I'm actually quite chuffed about it.

"I never had anyone phoning about anybody when I first came here, and now we've got some really good young players that everybody wants.

"We're quite flattered by that at Burnley really."

It would be one of Cotterill's final acts at Turf Moor. Cofie said: "The gaffer [Steve Cotterill] spoke to Vince and Jeff and then he pulled me into his office. I'd never really had any interaction with him until that day.

"He explained the situation to me and that was that. Nothing really sunk in because all I wanted to do was play football.

"The money side of things didn't bother me at all. I didn't put a price tag of £1m on my head. United did that, they rated me that highly.

"I didn't go into United thinking that I had to prove my worth. I know my worth. That's just the game we're playing and the world that we live in.

"That side of things wasn't an issue for me, I was just focussed on playing football, being happy and enjoying life."

Cofie was moving in the same circles as Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Ravel Morrison and Ryan Tunnicliffe when arriving at Carrington.

He had Will Keane, Danny Welbeck and Federico Macheda for competition while Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney would train just yards away on the adjacent pitch once he had reached his latter teenage years.

"It was incredible," exclaimed Cofie, who won the FA Youth Cup with United in 2011. "Carrington is unbelievable; the pitches were like carpets. You could zip a ball about everywhere and anywhere. I hit the ground running and it was really good.

"We had great coaches, but there was nothing really behind it until you get to the Under 18s. That's when it really started properly and working with Paul McGuinness was incredible and I learned a lot. It was incredible.

"We trained next to the first team. We shared the same building, the pitches were close together, we would finish training and watch what they were doing, sometimes we'd get pulled into training with them.

"That side of things was incredible and as a child it was amazing to be a part of that. You'd be walking through the corridors and seeing all these big names."

Cofie's career would turn out to be nomadic in nature. Moorland's new mentor, now 27, was never given the opportunity to settle and sustain a place anywhere as he jumped from loan spell to loan spell.

The first was Royal Antwerp in Belgium and then short spells with Sheffield United and Notts County followed.

In the end the ex-England Under 17 international would join Barnsley before signing terms with 11 other clubs as the harsh realities of the industry reared its ugly head.

He confessed: "This is why I took this job so I could put my arm around somebody and let them know that they can pick up the phone and call me at any time of the day.

"We didn't have that at United. All those big things were happening, I was still a child, but you were left to do your own thing.

"I came from a good family, I was raised properly, I had my head screwed on and I knew what I was there to do.

"But it's difficult when you go into any new place, it's never easy, so it all depends on the people that you're surrounded by.

"I can't speak ill of any of the lads that were on my team - from Paul Pogba, Ravel Morrison, Jesse Lingard, Ryan Tunnicliffe. They were a brilliant bunch of guys. I got on with them all really well."

He continued: "As a man they [the loan spells] helped me, but as a footballer they probably didn't.

"I went to Royal Antwerp, which was my first loan, and I saw grown men with mortgages, rent, bills. kids and all that to pay.

"They depended on winning to get bonuses to support their families. That was the first time I took a step back and thought that maybe I shouldn't be taking things as lightly as I had been.

"That's when I realised that this is a job now and there was more to it. From that moment my perspective changed a bit."

Cofie's career didn't scale the heights that his early form had promised. He fell through the pyramid, featuring for a number of non-league sides, before venturing over to Ireland and then hanging up his boots after turning out for Global FC in the Philippines Football League.

Cofie isn't one to live with any regrets, but he's happy to entertain moments of reflection. Asked if he'd do anything differently if he could do it all again, he said: "I think it all boils down to knowing the game.

"Obviously when I was 13/14 I didn't know the game the way that I do now. If I knew the game then how I know it now then my best option would have been to stay at Burnley and continue my development, whether they were a Premier League side or not.

"I play my best football when I'm happy so I would have stayed at Burnley to see what came of my future. Out of all the teams that I've been at, Burnley was when I was the happiest, without a shadow of a doubt.

"I've been really blessed in my life and there's not a single day when I wake up and I don't thank God for the life that I've lived and for the life that I'm living now. I'm very fortunate. Now I'll do my best to help the next generation."