FOOTBALLER Adrian Deane will be swapping Kent for the Middle East over the next few weeks when he takes part in the most important youth tournament in the world.

The Charlton Athletic ace, who lives in Canterbury, will star for the Republic of Ireland in the FIFA Under-20 World Youth Championships in the United Arab Emirates.

Winger Deane turned out for his country in a 2-0 warm-up win over Italy at the end of last month, and is now looking forward the finals, where his country are due to meet Mexico, the Ivory Coast and Saudi Arabia in the group phase.

“The World Youth Championships is a massive competition and it will be a great experience for me,” said Deane, who has been involved with Charlton's reserves over the last two years.

“It will be great to play against some of the best young players from other countries and we have a very strong squad and are capable of a few surprises.”

The tournament has been a springboard for many top careers, the most famous being Diego Maradona back in the 1970s. Deane even made his Ireland Under-21 debut against Switzerland last month and while things seem to be moving in the right direction, he is eager to avoid the troubles certain other footballers have recently been involved in.

As he bids to concentrate on his career, the pacy flanker recently moved from Nunhead, south east London to a rural part of Kent with his partner Hayley.

“The number of temptations that city life offers young footballers has been well documented and while that's never really been a problem for me - I still feel it's a good idea to have some kind of a retreat,” added the 20-year-old, who joins team-mates Scott Parker, Claus Jensen and Shaun Bartlett as Kent residents.

“I think it's important that when you're not training or playing a match, you’re able to have a break from the sport and that’s quite difficult when you live in London because it's all around you. It’s very quiet and withdrawn in Canterbury and there are obviously far fewer distractions than in London.”

He added: “I spoke to a few of the lads about what it’s like to live away from the capital and I heard nothing but good things.”

The 2003/04 season will be a key year in Deane's development and, yet to make his first-team bow, he has admitted it is time to make his breakthrough at The Valley.