As he ran out onto the pitch in front of 40,000 fans at London Stadium for his West Ham United debut, Levi Laing took in the surroundings and realized that he had reached the first milestone in a list of things he wanted to achieve in his professional career.

An hour earlier, he had no idea he would be coming off the bench in the last 16 of West Ham’s UEFA Conference League run. Then-West Ham boss David Moyes told him to “be prepared” at half-time with the team up several goals on aggregate with 45 minutes to play, and in the 68th minute, Laing replaced Kurt Zouma in the middle of the backline.

After making his way through the academy setups with Brentford, Arsenal and eventually the Hammers, this was the moment he had been dreaming of, and working so hard for.

“That experience was surreal for me,” Laing told CanPL.ca this week with a huge smile across his face. “My mum wasn’t able to come but my dad and my sister came to the game with my sister’s best friend, and for them to see me on the pitch from my local club Hampton and Richmond, to see where I was then to being able to play at the London Stadium at my debut, it was quite emotional for them.

“It was a real pinch me moment in terms of playing in front of 2-300 people to playing in front of 40,000, 45,000, but as soon as I got a touch of the football, I felt at home and I could do what I needed to do. Also my friends having seen me on TV was a bit of a pinch me moment as well, because all my best friends went to one of my friends’ houses, and then they were able to watch the game and stuff like that. It’s a surreal moment for me and my family.”

Though Laing never played another first-team game for West Ham, he says that being part of something like that lit a fire inside him to keep winning trophies wherever his career takes him.

After going on loan with Cheltenham Town FC and training at Aldershot FC in the past year, that next stop for Laing is reigning Canadian Premier League champions Cavalry FC, who announced the signing of the 22-year-old Englishman on a multi-year contract on Tuesday. The Cavs have never been shy about their ambitions to win every trophy available, which aligns with his own goals perfectly.

“I’m hungry to win medals, I’m hungry to win trophies, so in terms of bringing that to Cavalry, I know they’re a successful team, I want to continue to bring success to the team,” he said adamantly. “I’m hungry to do more for the team, I’m hungry to win a lot, so in that sense I’m determined, because I want to have that feeling again.

“I’m determined to do the best I can every single day in training, every day in the off-days, every day in my matches, to just be the best version of myself and hopefully help Cavalry do well.”

Receiving an offer to play overseas wasn’t necessarily on Laing’s radar before it popped up, but once he learned about the Canadian Premier League it was an opportunity he knew he had to take. With the CPL being a young league, he says it presented a chance for him to not only grow as a player on the pitch and a person off the pitch living in a new country by himself, but also to help grow something from the ground up in a developing football nation.

He comes with a high pedigree, having also represented the England youth national teams alongside the likes of Jude Bellingham, Jamal Musiala, Levi Colwill and Liam Delap, who have all gone on to have success at the club level and internationally — especially in the cases of Bellingham and Musiala, the latter of whom now represents Germany.

“As I left West Ham I was looking for another opportunity, and this Cavalry opportunity came about,” Laing said. “I was like ‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, you don’t really get these opportunities more than once’. For me and my family, I spoke to them and said I had to take this with two hands, and I’ve been enjoying it ever since I’ve touched down here.

“Everyone’s really helped me to transition really well from England to Canada, so I’ve really enjoyed it.”

A key figure in that, as one would expect, has been Cavs boss Tommy Wheeldon Jr. A driving force behind Cavalry since day one, Wheeldon Jr has had a lot of success in the Canadian Premier League, including leading the club to trophies in each of the past two seasons. He said in a press release on Tuesday that Laing has “some excellent tools for a modern-day defender” as part of a glowing review of his latest recruit.

“He is very comfortable in possession of the ball and very aggressive with his defensive duels,” Wheeldon Jr added. “We really like his profile and personality and feel he has a high ceiling to grow even further with us and we’re excited to get working with him.”

Though it’s unlikely that anyone can replace two-time Defender of the Year and 2023 Player of the Year Daan Klomp, who left for pastures new in the off-season, Laing will be expected to fill a similar role, and possesses a similar skillset. Laing, like Klomp, can play centre-back, right back and in a holding midfield role, but his strongest position in at the heart of the backline. That versatility could be valuable for a Cavs team always looking to find an edge in every position on the pitch.

“He’s been very transparent on what I need to do, stuff like that,” Laing said of his new head coach Wheeldon Jr. “He knows what he wants for me, obviously it’s still a bit of transition period for me, still getting used to the team, meeting my new teammates, how we’re playing, but honestly he’s really helped me in terms of understanding how we play, making sure I feel at home, all the little things like that to help me acclimatize to Calgary.

“Honestly, I can’t quite thank him enough, to help me transition so well and help me understand what the team wants for me.”

Laing had connections to this country before making the decision to join the Cavs. He has family living in Toronto, and played with Toronto FC defender Zane Monlouis while they were both in the Arsenal academy setup.

Perhaps the most influential, however, was Ibrahim Bakare — a friend and former teammate at Cheltenham earlier this season. Bakare is a player familiar to CPL fans, having been a standout player on Vancouver FC’s inaugural roster in 2023 before moving back to England with Cheltenham, where he has become a fixture in League Two this season. His passionate interview after Vancouver’s inaugural home match is one of the lasting memories of the club’s first campaign.

Bakare gave Laing a glowing review of his time in the CPL, and brought him up to speed on what he can expect on this side of the pond.

“He taught me a lot about the CPL, how it’s a growing league, how they play each other four times a year, I learned a lot about that in that sense,” Laing said. “I just spoke to him about how that, how’s the transition, how’s the football, how did he play? He said everything good about the league.

“I’ve reached out to him to see what I can do and stuff like that, but he’s been really, really helpful and obviously I can see what he’s grown into now, and he’s flourishing at Cheltenham. [Vancouver] gave him the platform to show what he can do, and then he’s been able to go back to England and play, which is good.”

Like Bakare, Laing has his own ambitions of returning to the highest levels of the game, and believes that the CPL is a great spot to showcase his abilities. That’s a long-term ambition, but for now, Laing says the focus is very much on settling in at Cavalry, playing as many games as possible, and sustaining the success that Cavalry has prided itself on since the CPL kicked off in 2019.

He says he is ready to play as soon as Friday, when Cavalry host Vancouver FC in their home opener, and first match at ATCO Field since lifting the North Star Cup in November.