Manchester City are reported to be targeting highly-rated Town academy schoolboy Ben Knight.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the Premier League side are hopeful of signing Knight, who plays for the Blues U15s and has also been involved with the England set-up, having kept tabs on him for some months. TWTD understands that City are far from the 14-year-old's only admirers.
Knight, a diminutive left-footed number 10, was named the Player of the Tournament at the Galway Cup in the summer.
Town are understood to be optimistic that they could rebuff any interest from City, whose U15s are coached by Mark Kennedy, who was previously in charge of the Blues’ U23s, or elsewhere but would be due considerable compensation if Knight, who has agreed a long-term deal at Playford Road, were to move on.
We have our #PlayerOfTheTournament! The @Bulova watch goes to Ben Knight of @ITFC_Academy! Well deserved! pic.twitter.com/XfqJX5baaw– Galway Cup (@GalwayCup) August 6, 2016
In July, promising 16-year-old striker Charlie Brown joined Chelsea for a figure which is still to be confirmed but is expected to be around £650,000 with manager Mick McCarthy admitting that it’s difficult to hold on to youngsters if big Premier League clubs come in for them and the player wants to go.
"It’s always frustrating to lose them at whatever age. At whatever stage they’re at you don’t want to lose them,” McCarthy said.
"It’s just one of those things, you can’t do anything about it. You have to just make the best deal you can.”