9am SCHOOL 9pm MAN OF THE MATCH
Liverpool and Man Utd keen on Rochdale’s 15-year-old starlet
LIVERPOOL and Manchester United are monitoring Rochdale teenager Luke Matheson following his fairytale debut. The 15-year-old began Year 11 at Trinity High School in Manchester on Tuesday morning then made his first-team bow for Rochdale in the evening as a 13th-minute substitute in their 2-1 Checkatrade Trophy win over local rivals Bury. Becoming the club’s youngest ever debutant was a great start but the dream didn’t end there as the schoolboy turned in a man- of-the-match performance.
It came as no surprise to manager Keith Hill, though, who has included the youngster in first- team training and match-day squads since he was 14, albeit mainly during school holidays.
‘Luke Matheson — wow!’ said Hill. ‘That first half was a little insight into what we see on the training pitch. We know what he can do.
‘ It’s not a leap of faith because we know he can do it, but is he cut out for the pressure of real men’s football?
‘He’s been training with the first team while he’s not been at school during the summer and I’m really pleased for him that he got his chance. They’re special nights when that happens. He was outstanding.’
The right back, who has been at Rochdale since he was 11, has been followed by Liverpool, United, Everton and Chelsea since making an impression over the past 15 months.
‘All the first-team players have looked after me and they’ve welcomed me in,’ said Matheson, who was back in school yesterday. ‘They still foul me sometimes and let me know that they’re there, and I like that because it’s better than them treating me like a kid!’
Talking to Rochdale’s website earlier this year about training with the first team, he added: ‘It’s different because everyone is quite a bit bigger than me.
‘It’s a big step up, only last year I was still with the Under 15s, but I’m really enjoying it because I’m learning a lot faster.
‘I’m learning while playing in training from the players and I’m learning from different coaches.
‘I’m learning a lot of different things about my position, like what I can do and what I can’t get away with at different levels of football.
‘There are things that I might be able to do with the Under 15s or with the youth team that I can’t do here because the players are better, stronger and faster.
‘Playing for the first team is where I want to be in the future, so I want to experience everything, not just half of it.’
The club’s previous youngest player was Dan Adshead, who also played against Bury in the same competition last season at the age of 16 years, 17 days. He signed his first professional contract with the club on Tuesday.
The youngest player to play in the Football League is Reuben Noble-Lazarus who made his debut for Barnsley aged 15 years and 45 days in September 2008.