Nathan Trott admits that he was surprised when he first learnt that West Ham United, of the Barclays Premier League, wanted to sign him.

The son of Dwayne Trott, the former Devonshire Colts and St George’s goalkeeper, put pen yesterday to a 2½-year deal, which, subject to Fifa approval and international clearance, will keep him at the East London club until June 2018.

“I’m very happy,” he said. “There’s been a lot of hard work put into this, not just by myself but also by my dad, my agent and all my family. I was very surprised when they told me; it’s a huge moment for me.

“I like it a lot here, I love the club. Everyone around here is very friendly.”

The 17-year-old arrived at Upton Park for trials last July, when he caught the eye of the coaching staff.

“I came here for a trial a few months ago and I knew during my second week here that West Ham were interested,” he said. “The coaches at the academy have made it very easy to settle in, so have the players; they’re very friendly.”

Trott impressed the coaching staff so much that he has been thrown in at the deep end, training alongside first-team goalkeepers Adrián and Darren Randolph.

“I’ve had a few training sessions with the first team, which was really exciting,” he said. “You have to work hard. It was a great experience. It was scary at first. I was pretty nervous but I got used to it and will hopefully do it again soon.

“I like to think my footwork and my reflexes are my main strengths. I have a few areas to improve but I am confident I can do that.

“Now, I just want to get as much game time as possible under my belt.”

When asked about his playing style and goalkeepers he admires, Trott named arguably three of the best in world football: “I look up to David De Gea, Petr Cech and Thibaut Courtois, they are my favourites,” he told the West Ham United website.

Back in Bermuda, Trott’s family were overjoyed to hear the good news.

“He has worked his butt off to get there and we are so proud and excited that he has this great opportunity and is highly regarded by a Premier League team,” Trott’s father, Dwayne, said.

“He knows that the really hard work has just begun. He can handle it, though.”

Before embarking on trials at West Ham, Trott played ten matches for BAA last season without conceding a goal. He transferred to North Village at the end of the 2014-15 season, but never played in a match because of successful trials at West Ham.

Trott originally played outfield as a winger, but, while preparing for international duty with Bermuda Under-15 team, was asked by Andrew Bascome, the national coach, to train as a reserve goalkeeper. He impressed between the posts in matches against Portugal, Colombia and Chile at an invitational tournament in Mexico in August 2014 — and the rest is history.

“It was a brave decision to put him in goal for the first time against such opponents,” Maceo Dill, the former national academy coach, said. “He did extremely well and the fact that he could use his feet gave confidence to the back four.”

Trott has joined compatriot Djair Parfitt-Williams at Upton Park, where another local, Clyde Best, made a name for himself in the Seventies.

He will likely join Parfitt-Williams in the development squad to intensify the race to become the first Bermudian to play in the Premier League since August 2003, when Shaun Goater ended his illustrious Manchester City career.

After Dale Eve, who is at Stoke City, Trott is the second Bermudian goalkeeper to appear on the books of a Premier League side. However, Eve has yet to break through into the first team, where England No 2 Jack Butland is firmly entrenched.