From a Red Devil to a Grecian – Demetri Mitchell has had a whirlwind few years across the British Isles.
Hailing from Manchester, the 26-year-old began his life at Fletcher Moss Rangers. The club has a history of being the birthplace of many fine young Manchester footballing talents, with Mitchell having played with Danny Welbeck and Ravel Morrison. Other notable Fletcher Moss talents concern the likes of Marcus Rashford and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson.
The former England youth international, who has frightening close control and is as quick as a whippet, has plundered the League One opposition since his arrival on a free transfer in late January. Since then, the winger has recorded three goals and three assists in 16 games this season.
The moment that captured Grecian hearts came against Premier League Luton Town in the third round of the EFL Cup.
With the game on a knife’s edge, Mitchell capitalised on an error before crashing the ball home off the bar to score the only goal of the game, sending the St James Park crowd into pandemonium.
Reminiscing, the former Manchester United youngster said; “In the moment, it was kind of crazy. I didn’t realise the importance of the goal until after the game.
“Scoring the winner was amazing – to beat a Premier League team and get through to the next round.
“It wasn’t until after I realised the importance of the goals and how much it meant to the fans.”
A stellar second half of last season has been followed up by an impressive start to the current campaign, with the attacker developing into a fan favourite due to his excellent pressing and high energy.
Mitchell expressed his desire to maintain his fitness and see out a full season for the club. He also talked of his desire to see the club progress and bounce back from recent lows;
“On a personal level, I’ve not yet had a season where I played over 40 games, or consistently 35 plus games in my career as a professional. The main focus is to be on that pitch.
“In terms of for the club… form’s taken a bit of a dip, but we’ve had a lot of injuries and we’ve got a lot of players coming back.
“I think once we’ve got the players coming back and we can string a few wins together, we can look onwards and upwards.”
Despite the club’s recent struggles in the league, they have the chance to turn over a new leaf. With the fourth round of the EFL Cup tonight against Middlesbrough, Mitchell will be hoping to lead Exeter to unknown territories. The club have never reached the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup. Tonight could be a famous occasion.
