Celtic are among a dozen clubs linked with an interest in Charlie Allen.
The 15-year-old has been named in the Linfield squad to face Rosenborg with a heavy presence of scouts expected to be inside Windsor Park tonight.
Irish football is very heavily scouted with the Belfast Telegraph reporting:
Allen, who made his first-team debut for Linfield in their final game of last season at Coleraine, is not 16 until November. The Belfast Telegraph can reveal that Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham and Leicester City are amongst the Premier League clubs interested. Championship outfit Leeds United are also keen, while top-flight Scottish clubs Celtic, Rangers and Aberdeen are monitoring Allen’s development.
Allen has been tagged as one of the best young players to emerge in Ireland in a generation but will struggle to develop his game further in a part-time set up.
Karamoko Dembele provides an obvious parallel in how Celtic have developed through a highly talented teenager but the club faces some difficult decisions with the young winger.
Last season’s Reserve League provided a very unsatisfactory experience with just 17 fixtures with no word yet on whether Celtic will play in this season’s competition. Hibs, St Johnstone and Aberdeen have already pulled out.
Neil Lennon already has a first team squad stretching into the high twenties in terms of numbers which makes playing time for players such as Dembele, Armstrong Oko-Flex and Ewan Henderson difficult to factor in.