WOLVES’ LUKE OF PURE TALENT

IT has been a whirlwind few months for teenage sensation Luke Matheson, but there is no chance of Wolves’ January capture getting carried away.

A day off school to score against Manchester United at Old Trafford, passing his driving test and completing a move from League One Rochdale that could rise to £3million would faze most youngsters.

But not Luke, who is happily back on loan at Spotland until the end of the season.

And it has been that way since he became Rochdale’s youngest debutant, aged 15 and 336 days, when he came off the bench against Bury in the EFL Trophy in September 2018. Keith Hill, now in charge at Bolton, was the man who first spotted the potential of Matheson (above) as Rochdale manager.

He did not think twice about launching him into the senior side, despite still taking his GCSEs.

Hill said: “He is a humble lad, but one who is self-driven and wants to make the most of his life on and off the pitch.

“There’s no way being signed by Wolves will change him as a person. It’s a great signing for Wolves and a great boost for British talent.

“It also shows you can still pick up good players in the lower leagues. He can go to the very top. Luke believes that without being boastful.” Matheson’s current Rochdale boss Brian Barry-Murphy is delighted the right wing-back – seen as a successor to Molineux star Matt Doherty – will have a few more months under his tutelage.

“He’s obviously a superstar in the making and he’s going to go far beyond my level of football,” admitted Barry-Murphy.

Matheson, meanwhile, has no illusions of grandeur. The 17-year-old said : “I owe Rochdale everything. They didn’t have to take a punt on an eight-year-old, a kid who back then was still wearing glasses. I don’t see myself as a big superstar. I’ve done nothing yet.”