Evening Standard
·4 February 2025
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Yahoo sportsEvening Standard
·4 February 2025
The young forward is considered one of British football’s most exciting talents
Tottenham have won the race for highly rated teenage star Mason Melia.
The forward joins from League of Ireland side St Patrick's Athletic in a deal worth £1.5million, plus add-ons, and has signed a contract until 2031.
Due to Brexit rules, Melia, who turns 18 in September, will join in January 2026.
The transfer fee smashes the previous record sale of a League of Ireland player, which was Liam Scales’s £500,000 move to Celtic in 2021.
Melia has been attracting interest for some time, having made his senior debut aged 15, in which he scored.
Standard Sport reported in May 2024 that almost every Premier League team had an interest in Melia, with north London rivals Arsenal firmly in the mix.
Melia has also spent time on trial at Manchester City.
The 17-year-old has made 54 senior appearances for St Pats, scoring 10 goals, and was recently called up to the Republic of Ireland Under-21s squad for the first time.
Melia is the fourth young star to join Spurs today. Earlier on Tuesday, Luca Furnell-Gill joined from Liverpool, Daniel Batty arrived from City and Reiss Russell-Denney swapped Chelsea for N17.