The 19-year-old striker moved to Lancing from Sydney, Australia, four years ago to join Brighton and has since played for Lewes and Met Police after leaving the Seagulls.
Kealy has seen the likes of Omar Bugiel and Lloyd Dawes benefit from playing regularly at Worthing to move up the leagues and that was a big deciding factor in his decision to move to Woodside Road.
He said: “I want to get as high as I can and I want to play in the league one day. This is a good club for me at the moment because a lot of players here have been in my position and have gone on to league clubs. If I can do as well as I think I can, then why can’t I be like them?”
“I met Hinsh in the summer and he said he wanted to try to get a lot of local, young players that are hungry to try to get more out of the game. It’s a really good, professional club, so if I can play as well as I can here, then I’ll try to get as high as I can in the football game.”
“with the backing for this club fans-wise, there was only one decision and that was to come here”
Kealy had other options this summer but Worthing’s fanbase made the decision a simple one:
“A few other clubs were interested and I could have stayed at Met Police but the backing for this club fans-wise, there was only one decision and that was to come here. My first game here was for Met Police last year and there were near enough 1,000 people here. They were loud and it was a factor in me coming here, especially being local as well. The fans are really good, really loud and the Away Boys have taken to me as well which has been good. I’m looking forward to hearing more of my song now.”
Looking ahead to the new Bostik League Premier Division season, Kealy said: “I saw the odds for the season and we’ve gone under the radar, so there’s no pressure on us. We can go out and play with no pressure, get the fans behind us in the first few games of the season, and I think we’ll be up there towards the end of the season. The club is ambitious, National South is definitely a target and I can see that happening soon. Then we’ll be looking at the National League and take things from there.”
