Charlton wonderkid Karoy Anderson only made his senior debut a year ago but is already an international football star

KAROY ANDERSON had a remarkable first year in senior football.

The Charlton midfield wonderkid made his league debut, within two months was playing for Jamaica, racked up 24 league starts and played at the Copa America.

Charlton wonderkid Karoy Anderson has had an incredible first year in senior footballJUSTIN ALLEN

All this and he is still only 19.

The academy-graduate though is keeping his feet firmly on the ground.

He told SunSport: “If you look far ahead, you get lost in the future. If you look into the past you can get stuck there.

“It was a great opportunity and experience to go to the Copa America, to participate in a tournament that size. I didn’t think about the magnitude of it until I got there.

“The atmosphere was unbelievable. It was the nature of the games and what it meant, especially for my family and the people of Jamaica. It was humbling.

“It was exciting – the fans, stadiums and being able to travel to see difference places but also take business seriously.”

Anderson came on as a late sub against Ecuador and played the last 22 minutes of the final group match with Venezuela.

In the Jamaica squad he played and trained alongside the likes of West Ham star Michail Antonio, ex-Leicester, Everton and Birmingham ace Demari Gray and Brentford’s Ethan Pinnock.

And, also in the group, was his Charlton team-mate Michael Hector.

Anderson said: “I learned so much. I saw how they carried themselves and their application to training every day. They’re at a high level and been there for a while. You see what habits have ultimately kept them there, their mindset and preparation.

“I got on with the majority of the team. I was room-mates with Dexter Lembikisa from Wolves. He’s been on loan at Hearts in Scotland.

“It was a good experience to speak to someone like that and learn things from someone who is a similar age to me and who is at a Premier League club.”

And in the Venezuela game, the Charlton kid faced former Newcastle, Everton and West Brom ace Salomon Rondon.

But Anderson said while he was out there he was so zoned into the game he did not take notice who he was up against.

And he said: “I didn’t think about other players in the moment. After the game you think, “Oh, I played against him” but in the moment I see it as football.

“We’re all on the same pitch and on the same level. I don’t look at players and think, ‘wow.’ Of course, it was nice to share the pitch with big names.”

Anderson’s mum is Jamaican while his dad also descends from there.

And while he did once harbour ambition to play for England in recent years his heart was set on playing for the Caribbean island.

The midfielder said: “Because I was born and raised in South London, when I was younger I was thinking about playing for England but as I got older I spent a lot of time going with my mum to different places and interacting with Jamaican people.

“Also with my brother too. We spoke about what it would be like to play for Jamaica, what it means to everyone back home and how proud they would be. For that reason, it wasn’t a question who I’d play for.”

And there was never a question that Anderson would not play for his local club.

Charlton boss Nathan Jones can use the vast experience he gained at Luton to plot a way up to the Championship

Karoy Anderson is hoping to help Charlton win promotion this seasonJUSTIN ALLEN

Throughout his journey through the academy he often played a year, two years, even three years above his age-group as his coaches constantly challenged him to step up in class.

Anderson may not have been star-struck while playing in the Copa America but certainly was when he used to be a ball-boy at The Valley.

He said: “I was a scholar at Charlton and we’d be ballboys at the games. As a kid, that was so exciting and I loved watching players like Joe Gomez. Even though we don’t play in the same position, seeing his journey has been really inspiring.”

One of the midfielder’s middle names is Zidane — due to his mum’s admiration for Zinedine — but his idol growing up was another French superstar, Paul Pogba.

He said: “I loved him when he was at Juventus, how exciting he was. I look up to those sort of players.”

Anderson is hoping to help the Addicks climb out of League One at the fifth attempt.

And in Nathan Jones they have a manager who has been there and done it – as he was instrumental in Luton’s climb from League Two to the brink of the Premier League.

The rookie midfield ace added: “Everyone trusts him and knows he knows what it takes to get out of his league and will do his best to bring this group to where the club can be. There is complete trust and we follow him.

“Our aim is to get promoted – it’s as simple as that.”