WESTHOUGHTON football ace David Deavall is swapping the North West for North America after signing professional forms with Canadian side Hamilton Thunder.

The 24-year-old initially went over to the country to do some coaching after passing his FA coaching badge.

But after recently impressing in an exhibition game he was offered a contract by the Canadian Professional Soccer League side for the coming season which begins in May.

He said: "I can't wait for it all to start. It was a bit of a shock as although I was in different academies when I was younger, played for Bolton town team and was semi-pro with Daisy Hill, I had pretty much settled for coaching.

"My plan for the future was to become involved in the family kitchen business, but I'll be staying in Canada indefinitely now."

Although the nation failed to make the World Cup last year, David believes Canadian football is on the up, and will benefit from its league linking up with the professional league in the United States next season.

"From May next year some of the Canadian sides will be joining up with Major League Soccer," he explained. "Football is growing and Hamilton play in a 25,000 seater stadium.

"The standard is improving all the time, it used to be just for the kids but now more adults are staying involved in the sport.

"The Owen Hargreaves factor has been a big positive and they are always very proud of his achievements.

David, who is a forward, is particularly excited as Hamilton are a feeder club for Sampdoria, who currently look set for a return to Serie A.

He added: "There is talk of a summer tour of Italy which would be fantastic but I'll settle for the pre-season tour to Bermuda."