It was a dream deadline day for Keshi Anderson, as the 19-year-old sealed a £35k move from non-league Barton Rovers to Premier League Crystal Palace.

The teenager made the jump from the Evo-Stik Southern League Division One Central after impressing Eagles scouts as a trialist for Brentford in their U21 clash with Palace, netting a six minute perfect hat trick against a defence including 31-year-old Paddy McCarthy.

Now, the man who gave Anderson his first taste of adult football has backed him to be the next star out of non league, as he spoke exclusively to FYP’s Matt Woosnam.

34-year-old Dan Kennoy stepped down as Barton Rovers’ first team boss in the summer, but not before he had seen a teenager tear up the league with 20 goals in his debut season.

Keshi Anderson picked up the top goalscorer award and the supporters’ player of the year gong at the end of season award ceremony for Rovers, and Kennoy has tipped him to be a big success at Palace.

“I wasn’t surprised [Palace bought Anderson] because there are a lot of players now, especially who are floating around the non league circuit, who have been involved in Premier League clubs [at youth level] and haven’t made it.

“He has great raw ability, he’s got great, fantastic feet, a defender can be two inches from nicking the ball but somehow his quick feet will shift it past him.”

Kennoy gave the Luton based striker his debut when he was still just 17 years old, and despite his size, he took to it like a duck to water, leading Rovers to the highest finish in their 116 year history with 20 goals to his name.

“I was the first team manager at Barton last year. Keshi came through our youth structure, reserve team and then I gave him his debut in the first team when he was still playing in the U17s. I’ve known him for three or four years now. He’s an exciting young player who had a lot of opportunities when he was younger, he was on trial at probably every club going but I think over the last 18 months he’s grown up a little bit and started taking these opportunities seriously. He’s been fantastic.

“Although he is quite small comp to a lot of non league players it didn’t faze him at all, he’s so light and nimble on his feet, he rides a challenge well, he’s got good pace and can hold the ball up intelligently. He’s a really exciting prospect and hopefully he will learn a lot at Palace and progress his career.

The 34-year-old previously managed at Hitchin Town, where current Palace U18 boss Ken Gillard spent time as assistant manager. Gillard also held the same role at Anderson’s former club, Barton Rovers. But Kennoy mentions former QPR and Brentford striker DJ Campbell, and suggests Anderson can emulate him.

“One person I grew up with and played against numerous times at non-league level was DJ Campbell and I said to Keshi two years ago that he could be that player and go on to make a good career for himself. He could be the next one to come up from lower levels at non-league and make a name for himself and have a good career. I’m not surprised; the lad has all the ability, he just needed someone to take that chance with him.

“He’s been with the youth team since he was about U14s or U15s so he has literally come through the whole structure. We’ve got a very good youth structure at the club and he has been in and around the first team training with us for the last two or three years.”

Such is the impression Anderson left on his former boss, that he is tipping him to reach the same level of another player to have dropped into non-league after failing to break through at a Premier League youth academy.

“He’s a great finisher. You’ve got a lad there in Dwight Gayle who has probably come from the same background as Keshi. I would hope that he can go on and emulate what Dwight has done. They are slightly different players, Keshi is comfortable dropping in the hole as a number 10 or he can play as a number 9 off the shoulder. He has good pace and a good footballing brain so he can get on the ball and cause people problems with threaded passes through defences, but if you give him the ball in the box he’s calm, he’s cool, he’s collected and he will finish.”

But it hasn’t all been plain sailing for the man who had 19 goals in 29 games this season prior to departing the Bedfordshire side, and it took him a while to mature into the player he has become.

“There were probably so many people telling him he was a great player he just thought it would happen naturally, but over the last 18 months he has realised it is now or never and he’s knuckled down. He struggled to get into train but in the last 18 months he has knuckled down, never missed training sessions, grown up and matured. He is looking at it as ‘this is my opportunity’. He has a good network of friends in Luton and maybe seen them break into the Luton team and he’s thinking ‘maybe I need to push on to get that opportunity.’

“He’s progressed really well over the last two months, if he continues that development curve then the next year to 18 months Palace will be sitting down and renegotiating a longer contract.

“It’s down to him to give himself a chance with his performances. I’m sure the gaffer won’t ignore him if he is scoring goals and playing well. I’m sure he will get the opportunity. It’s happened with Dwight so why not Keshi?

If Conroy already thought things were perfect, his former protegeé made him think again on Tuesday afternoon as he found the back of the net on his debut as a substitue for Palace's U21 side in a 3-0 victory over fierce rivals Millwall. 

It hasn't been a bad start to the week for Keshi Anderson.