Former Fulham youngster Lino Goncalves has earned a dream contract with Spanish side Real Club Recreativo de Huelva FC - one year after being released by Fulham.

The youngster was given his second chance after impressing scouts while training at the Glenn Hoddle Academy Club.

Goncalves and Dave Cowley have joined Real Club Recreativo de Huelva FC on two-year contracts, with a further two-year option, which will see the pair form pivotal roles in the club’s anticipated return to the Spanish top flight after relegation from La Liga last season.

Real Club Recreativo de Huelva FC is Spain’s oldest football club, established in 1889.

The news of these two transfers comes on the back of Sevilla FC’s signing of Ikechi Anya and brings to four the number of players so far who have developed with Glenn Hoddle and his team and gone on to secure professional contracts.

Both midfield maestro Cowley, and Goncalves a talented winger, have experienced the heartbreak of being told they would be released by their pro clubs, only for Glenn Hoddle to give them a second chance and a footballing lifeline at his unique Academy in Jerez, Southern Spain.

Dave Cowley 21, from Harlow, played his football at West Ham and Southend and included a stint in America, where his unquestionable talent was plain to see. His height though would always be a factor in the English game, something not as critical in Spain, where talent on the ball comes first.

Lino Goncalves 20, from New Malden joined Fulham FC as a youngster and plays wide on the left as a talented winger with lots of tricks that see him complete many runs down the left wing, followed by pin-point crosses and passes, something not lost on Huelva’s scouts.

Released from their pro clubs in 2008, both Cowley and Goncalves were signed up for trials with the Glenn Hoddle Academy Club at Cobham, the Chelsea FC training ground and impressed enough to be offered full-time contracts which saw them move to Spain for unique professional football development supervised personally by Glenn Hoddle.

There is considerable club interest in members of the GHA squad, both in England and further afield and with four players back in the game in its first year and the promise of trials at senior Spanish and English clubs, the concept of a professional development centre is clearly something the game has been needing for a long time.

Dave Cowley said: “I am over the moon to get a contract with Huelva, we have played them a few times recently and thankfully I did a pretty good job in front of their scouts.

"I hope I can score a few goals and get them promoted back into La Liga. This is a huge opportunity for me and I am definitely going to take it and show the Spanish clubs just how good English players can be on foreign soil.

“I’ve had an unbelievable year with Glenn and the coaches and in that time I know I’ve really come on. They really do a superb job, the coaching is second to none and I can’t thank Glenn and the team enough for all the effort they have put in, it’s been simply brilliant here and I will miss the coaches and all the players, they are like my family.”

Lino Goncalves said: “This is really a dream come true for me to play for Huelva FC. I still can’t believe it has happened and I am really looking forward to getting there next week to start pre-season training.

"Fortunately I am fit as we haven’t had a break this year and have been playing games all through the close season.

“When I left Fulham I really had no options, I was looking to find some work to support my family and maybe play semi-pro or amateur football.

"Only six weeks ago I was supplementing my income as a waiter and contemplating my future and then Glenn got me back here for a tournament. After spending this time with Glenn I now have the chance to really make it at the highest levels as a professional, in the game that I love and this would not have been possible without my time at the GHA”.

Glenn Hoddle said: “It’s been a busy week this week, we had Ikechi Anya moving to Sevilla on Tuesday and now Dave and Lino are on the way to Huelva. This is a very proud day for me, and everyone at the GHA, players and staff alike.

"It also vindicates my belief in the concept of giving players released too soon a second chance. With the right mental approach, the right development, in the right surroundings, what we are doing in Spain really works. The proof here is in the four lads we’ve got back so far in only our first year.

“Both the lads have come on so much this past year. I have been really impressed with their attitude and willingness to develop.

"We’ve worked hard getting them playing with both feet, improving their observation and touch and really developing them in to all-round players ready for the professional game.

"I have made it clear to them that the hard work really starts now and their goal is to become regular first team players. We’ve given them the opportunity and now it’s down to them to take it.

“We all wish Dave and Lino all the best as they start their new careers and we are already looking for new players to join the GHA to replace them, specifically those released from Premier League and Championship clubs, and also players from Europe’s top leagues, released from their clubs and available for trials.”