Cresswell reveals devastation after Liverpool release

Before establishing himself as a first-team regular at West Ham who would eventually get his first call-up to the English national team, Aaron Cresswell struggled mightily to impress at Liverpool.

The Merseyside outfit cut ties with the left-back when he was just 15 years old - a move Cresswell admits left him devastated.

"My dad told me in the car," Cresswell told Jeremy Wilson of The Telegraph. "I couldn't get my head around it at first. They pull the parents to one side and tell them, 'It's not to be but it's not the end.'

"I was devastated. As a kid, you are in a bubble of playing for Liverpool. It was all I had done for two years and I had enjoyed it so much. It wasn't about a job, or thinking, 'I won't make it.' It was about playing for the club I supported. Everyone around me was a Liverpool fan. It was just purely for the love of football."

After his father encouraged him to continue pursuing his goal of turning professional, Cresswell was eventually spotted by a scout for Tranmere Rovers, where he would sign his first professional contract after coaches at the club convinced him to switch from midfielder to left-back.

He went on to join Ipswich Town before evolving into a regular at West Ham United.

Despite suffering a serious leg injury that sidelined him for three months this summer, Cresswell's impressive performances thus far in the Premier League were rewarded with a place on England's World Cup qualifying roster ahead of Friday's tie with Scotland.