Southampton have joined an ever-growing list of clubs interested in signing 15-year-old Northern Ireland prospect Charlie Allen.
According to Football Insider, the Saints are just one of a handful of Premier League sides interested in signing the highly-rated teenager, who made his first-team debut for Linfield FC last season, the current champions of Northern Ireland Football League.
The report states that Allen has already had a trial at Tottenham and that Chelsea could also offer the teenager a trial at their Cobham training ground, with Southampton also facing competition from Manchester City and Norwich for the attacking midfielder.
Allen was also rumoured with a move to Celtic and Rangers during the summer as The Daily Record report, the same week in which the teenager was named in Linfield’s Champions League qualifying squad to face off against Rosenborg.
With Linfield academy director Glenn Ferguson describing Allen as “one of the brightest prospects” he has seen as per the Football Insider report, Southampton could do with pursuing the highly-rated teenager more than other clubs interested in the Northern Irish youth international.
With the Saints boasting one of the finest academies in England and taking on a club philosophy of playing young players high potential, a move to Southampton could be the ideal destination for Allen if he is eager to take the next step in his career and head to the Premier League.
With Southampton so far this season boasting one of the youngest starting XI’s as numbers from Transfermarkt show, Allen will be joining the ideal club to develop his game at if he decides to depart his home country so soon in his footballing life given their approach to playing youth and Ralph Hasenhuttl’s willingness to let younger players develop in the first-team.
