The youngster began last month with Denmark Under-21s in a mid-season training camp before he joined up with his teammates for a trip to Portugal where the side played three tough fixtures.

The young Bees also confirmed a place in the semi-finals of the Middlesex FA Senior Challenge Cup with a 1-0 win over Wingate & Finchley and they will now set their sights on a tough match with Wealdstone.

Discussing his trip to Turkey with the national squad and then the seven day stay in the south of Portugal, Japhet was left pleased with the recent run.

He explained: “In the second week of January I went away with the under-21s to Turkey in a training camp and played 45 minutes against Slovakia. It’s always good to be away with the national team.

“I also think Portugal it was a great trip and it’s always good to be away with the lads abroad because we have a really good group. When you get away it gives you the chance to grow closer together and we played some really good games.

“The first half against FC Seoul, we managed to get 2-0 up, and I felt we dominated the game against Ferreiras completely. We played well in the last game against Astana who have been in the Europa League, so they were a really good team.

“They were men’s teams so there’s definitely things we can take and put into our game in order to give us bigger advantages. I think I got some good experience playing against different sorts of strikers, like their nationalities and their style of play. It’s great, there are always good tours and we always look forward to going abroad.”

The 19-year-old, who is on a season-long loan from FC Midtjylland, believes his game has progressed even further so far this campaign and the youngster wants to kick on and keep developing.

“It’s been a really good time for me personally. The first two months I was injured but I think I’ve come back strongly, and I feel fit now, I’ve worked a lot with the physios and all the staff, and I feel 100%,” said the young Dane. “I’m learning a lot; the intensity is a lot higher and I’ve been able to play against many different sides, so I feel that I’ve developed a lot. I love it and I think I have adapted well.

“I’ve started to train a bit with the first team and that’s a goal for me, to train regularly with them, so I’m trying every day to improve that. Otherwise we have some good fixtures coming up now and we want to win the two cups (Middlesex FA Senior Challenge Cup and the London Senior Cup) so it’s looking good.

“It’s not easy (to step into first team training) but we do many things right with the B Team in that we try to do the same things. The intensity is high, so it makes that step up a bit easier, it’s a really good group when you train with them and there’s always lots to take.”

Having helped the side to the quarter-final win over Wingate & Finchley with a 1-0 win on 28 January, the tie with Wealdstone is scheduled to take place on 18 February, and having reached the latter stages, the young defender believes the side can go all the way.

He continued: “We were very pleased to progress, we have many games, but these cup games give us something to play for and it’s a real goal for us to win those cups, so to advance into the semi-finals is really good. We look very strong now, if you compare to the beginning of the season, we look stronger now we’ve come up against some good sides and I think we know how to play these games. When you play against teams from lower leagues you have to be on your toes because they are some good sides.”