Former Wolves youngster and lifelong Crystal Palace fan Jake Kempton will be following this weekend’s titanic battle at Molineux – from Bali. It’s quite a story, as Paul Berry discovers.

Imagine going into your first season as a professional footballer, having expended all the blood, sweat and tears accumulated up to that point, and getting injured, after which you have barely kicked a ball for two years.

Then imagine rebuilding your career at a lower league club, being promised a deal when a place in the squad becomes available in January, only for the manager to resign days before the transfer window opens and his replacement decides to go in a different direction.

Also imagine, building a hugely successful business involved in real estate development, taking the trip of a lifetime to Bali, and then discovering that in reality, you may not need to return home. This is the story of former Wolves youth striker and lifelong Crystal Palace fan, Jake Kempton.

For whom the return was certainly greater than the setback. Award-winning Kempton Homes have built an excellent reputation in the world of residential property development in the South East of England. Of the five employees, Kempton is owner, CEO and majority shareholder, his brother Sam is co-owner and site manager, and his mother Christine is director of sales and marketing.

And now, much of his work can be done remotely, as a “digital nomad,” putting in as much work and dedication as anyone else.

Just from a very different place. “I’m talking to you now from outside an internet café, and if I look out the window I can see lots of people sitting at their laptops and working,” says Kempton.

“Because of the way the business operates and what I do, even though there are some things I have to come back for, I can do a lot of that virtually by having meetings and working online .

“We started our business eight years ago in February, and it was about a year and a half ago when I first came here.

“I had worked really hard for so long to make everything work out and I wasn’t happy with my social life and the way my work-life balance was going.

“So, I decided to explore!”

“I came to Bali with a few friends from home, I’ve been here ever since, I have a good group of friends and I met my girlfriend here.

“It’s also a very healthy lifestyle, we all want to stay fit and gyms are like high-level spas.

“I’m a bit addicted to the game of padel, which I play most of the time, and there’s just a great outdoor lifestyle.

“I love walks on the beach, going there in the morning with a coffee, it’s a really infectious environment here and really positive and interesting.

“There’s also still a very vibrant party scene in Bali – but I think I’m past that now!”

There was an added element to the decision to spread his wings as Kempton is happy to admit that he underwent therapy a few years ago to finally shrug off the legacy of an identity crisis that followed the end of his career as an aspiring footballer.

And that’s completely understandable, given that his efforts to turn professional have had the most difficult history for several different reasons. It’s a story that began, like so many others, with the ambition to pursue a career in football from a very young age.

He then joined Fulham at the age of 15, having also trialled at Chelsea, but, when he was released a year later after playing at under-15 and under-16 levels, de many clubs lined up to offer him a scholarship.

“One of them was Crystal Palace, my club, which in normal circumstances would have been a dream come true,” admits Kempton.

“But they were in administration and it didn’t seem like the right thing to do.”

“I remember going to Southampton who were really keen to sign me, but AlanTravis (Academy recruitment manager) asked me to come to Wolves, and that was it.

“I was touring all these clubs with my dad, and Wolves just blew us away with the culture and the atmosphere when we visited – I still remember the stadium tour – and I immediately had the feeling of being part of the team.”

And that’s what Kempton continued to feel after choosing Wolves, as he embarked on his full-time scholarship at the Academy. Living away from home was no fear for the South London native.