Fulham star opens up on becoming a man at Wigan Athletic ahead of FA Cup return

The 20-year-old winger spent last season on loan with Latics, experiencing his first taste of 'men's football'.

And he took to it like a duck to water, with his eight goal involvements in 37 appearances leading to a first call-up to the England Under-20 side.

Godo has continued his development this season, with four appearances for the Cottagers - in four different competitions - including a Premier League debut against Southampton in December.

But he will never forget his year at Wigan, from which he made the transformation from boy into man.

“It was enjoyable," he said. "Saturday, Tuesday games for the first time ever, so I had to get used to that. I have to thank the staff and obviously the manager over there for trusting me and playing me most games.

“It was a really good loan spell for me, personally. Living by myself, it allowed me to grow, as a player off the pitch as well as on it. The club, the fans, the gaffer, the town, the community...it was so welcoming to me, they welcomed me with open arms, which allowed me to play so much better as well. As the season went on and I went through some ups and downs, it only made me stronger.”

One of the highlights of Godo's stay was facing Manchester United - his boyhood team - in the FA Cup third round just over 12 months ago.

“Crazy – I still pinch myself to this day," he said. “I just tried to make my dreams into reality. It was an amazing moment. They went full strength, but we just focused on ourselves.

"I'm focusing on the game, but I'm standing next to Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes and all of these people, and it's just, like, these are the games you want to play and you live for. I did get injured for eight weeks with my ankle, but I had some crazy experiences, crazy games – playing United in the FA Cup – and that allowed me just to keep growing and becoming better as a player.”

Godo's return to Wigan is one of many sub-plots to this weekend's game, which sees the Sessegnon twins - Steven for Latics and Ryan for Fulham - facing each other for the first time.

Remarkably, Godo hasn't just played alongside the pair at Fulham...he was also a team-mate of a third Sessegnon brother in non-league!

“Funnily enough, I played with their older brother, Chris, at Margate," he told Fulham's official website. "When I first came to Fulham on trial, Steven was injured, so he was training with the Under-23s, and then I played with him when I went Wigan. And now I play with Ryan Sess, so it’s a bit crazy! But they’re all great lads, who all took me in as a younger brother and looked after me.”