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Hartford Athletic has made no secret of its desire to give young players a chance, and now that approach has trickled into deciding the club’s third head coach in as many years.

Harry Watling, 31, was announced Wednesday as the USL Championship side’s head coach for 2021, replacing Radhi Jaidi after the former Premier League defender returned to Southampton FC.

It’s Watling’s first appointment at the senior-team level, as the Englishman arrives from West Ham United’s academy ranks. He also had stops at Chelsea and Millwall, focusing on developing younger players.

“I think it would have been very, very easy to stay in the academy system for another four, five years,” Watling said. “But I’ve just got that burning desire to want to take a team and compete at this level, so for me that was really important.”

The appointment bears some resemblance to Jaidi, a 45-year-old who played in two FIFA World Cups (2002, ‘06) for Tunisia. Jaidi led Southampton’s U-23 side before coming to Connecticut, honing his eye for potential.

It’s also a different direction than inaugural head coach Jimmy Nielsen, who led Hartford Athletic during its expansion year in 2019. Nielsen, who won MLS Cup and Danish SuperLiga titles during his playing career, was with USL Championship side OKC Energy FC before coming to the Blue & Green.

“My coaching age is a lot older than what you would think it was,” Watling said. “So you may get a 40 [or] 50-year-old coach who’s only been coaching five or six seasons. I’ve almost been coaching 14 seasons at the academy level in the UK, so for me it’s a great opportunity.”

Asked about his coaching influences, Watling described Rangers FC assistant coach Michael Beale as his mentor. He also highlighted working with Premier League players like Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi and West Ham midfielder Declan Rice during their academy days, knowing the England internationals before their Premier League careers truly took off.

England-centric connections sparked Watling’s initial interest, with Hartford technical advisor Paul Buckle explaining the project more. That began conversations, then interviews evolved and chairman Bruce Mandell played a key role in the process.

“The U.S., in general, is a really interesting market for me because I just think that it’s up and coming,” Watling said. “The USL as well is one of the rising stars of leagues around the world, so that’s something that really interested me.”

Unlike Jaidi, who was essentially loaned to Hartford, Watling has departed West Ham and is under contract with the club. He’s planning to arrive stateside in the middle of February, with long-term stability needed as Hartford plants firmer roots.

The USL Championship hasn’t announced a 2021 season start date, though May is reportedly a general target. The COVID-19 pandemic figures to complicate what’s realistic, even as vaccines get rolled out to the general population. This past year, Hartford endured a four-month pause from March through July and had limited-capacity crowds at Dillon Stadium.

Whatever awaits, Watling will look to build off Hartford’s 2020 success. The club topped Group F, which resulted in a home playoff game. They lost 1-0 against now-defunct Saint Louis FC, but it was a notable step forward after struggling results-wise as an expansion club.

“The pressure of [results] is a privilege, it’s an absolute privilege and that’s what I want,” Watling said. “We’re lucky where we’ve got players that we’ve carried over, they understand that mindset, they understand those values and those behaviors and they also understand the non-negotiables in the changing room of what’s acceptable and what drives winning. That’s going to be a real key factor in our success.”

Hartford has announced nine players for the 2021 season, bringing back club captain Danny Barrera and adding youngsters like Ghanaian midfielder Nii Armah Ashitey. It’s a unique blend, one that brings development to the forefront yet again. Luckily, Watling is quite familiar with that approach.

“It’s really important for me to understand where [the players] are right now and where they want to go,” Watling said. “We need to understand our start point and our end goal and build a plan, an individual development plan for each player to try and help them reach their milestones.”

Before coming to Hartford Athletic, Watling earned his UEFA A license as a 26-year-old. More player announcements are expected to be made in the coming weeks.