“I set myself a target…” – Exclusive: Fleetwood’s Paddy Lane on whirlwind season amid links to West Ham

The 2021/22 campaign has been a whirlwind ride for Paddy Lane, who has gone from plying his trade in the seventh tier of English football to winning the League One Young Player of the Season award in less than 12 months. 

The midfielder left Northern Premier League Premier Division side Hyde United to join Fleetwood Town in the summer and has made that sizeable step up with remarkable ease.

Lane has quickly grown into a vital figure in Fleetwood’s pursuit of League One survival – scoring five times and providing eight assists as he’s showcased his quality from both flanks and in central midfield

His stunning first season in the EFL has not gone unnoticed, with the 22-year-old handed his Northern Ireland debut in March and now linked with a summer move to West Ham United (The Mirror (17/04: p74)).

The latest recognition came on Sunday, as he was named the 2022 League One Young Player of the Season at the EFL Awards.

The beaming smile across his face as he spoke to Football League World with the award firmly grasped in his hand highlighted just what it meant to him but he was quick to give credit to those that have accommodated his rise.

“It’s one of them where if someone had told me this at the start of the season I would’ve told them to get out of the room,” said Lane in an exclusive interview with FLW.

“It’s been some season, some feeling but like I say I’ll forever be thankful for my family and teammates because I wouldn’t be here without them.”

While the Northern Ireland international was happy to take in a night that must’ve seemed unreachable just a year ago, he is determined not to get caught up in his own success.

Asked about what it has been like on the whirlwind ride that has seen him establish himself at