PREMIER CLUBS ‘KEEPING TABS’ ON POTTERS STRIKER TEZGEL

IT has been inevitable that Emre Tezgel, the 16-year-old Stoke City striker, would attract scouts and interest this season.

Tezgel has only just moved into Year 11 at Painsley Catholic College but he has already trained with the first team under Potters boss Michael O’neill and has been scoring goals for fun with club and country.

Now the Daily Mail has claimed that Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City are ‘among his admirers’.

Tezgel, from Forsbrook, has played ahead of his age for the under-18 and would have played more for the under23s if it were not for school commitments.

And since the start of June he has scored 15 times in 10 games.

He has pinged in hat-tricks against Northern Ireland and Liverpool and was player of the tournament as England reached the final of Syrenka Cup in Poland - the award picked up by Jude Bellingham two years ago. O’neill, who has opened the first-team door for players from the academy, knows he has another special talent coming through the ranks. He said recently: “We’ve had Emre up for the odd day training with us when numbers allow.

“We’ve had Tom Sparrow too and Adam Porter, obviously, has been up on a regular basis.

“Dan Malone too and David Okagbue, a young centreback from Ireland, and a number of boys.

“We try to bring them up when the opportunity permits us to do it. “Typically the day after a game is a good one because the players who played are recovering and we can inflate the group with younger players.

“They have their own schedule too so that limits them sometimes but getting the young boys up and having them train with us on a regular basis is good for us to see them and good for them, obviously. “Hopefully the lads in the academy can see that if they perform and handle the game at that level that they will get an opportunity.”

PETER SMITH