West Ham are in the hunt to sign 15y/o Jack Patterson
West Ham have set their sights on Crusader teenager Jack Patterson according to the Belfast Telegraph.
Everton are also rumoured to be interested in the 15-year-old, who has already impressed in his short career.
Patterson set a record for Crusaders in January, becoming their youngest ever player in a competitive fixture when he came on against Warrenpoint Town.
And his manager Stephen Baxter is certainly a big fan of Patterson and praised the youngster after his debut.
He said, “What a prospect the boy is.
“We saw the talent that was recommended to us by our youth academy director and in the few games he played for the under-20 side, he was outstanding.
“We brought him into the first team and I thought he was an incredible player for his age. He’s in training with us and if he’s good enough, he’s old enough. He has the talent and he will certainly be someone we will be talking about in the future.”
Future star?
Little is known about Patterson because he is so young and has barely played, but it is encouraging to see us target him.
It is evidence of the club’s extensive scouting network, which is a big positive, and suggests we are trying to uncover the next big thing.
Too often West Ham have signed players past their best like Samir Nasri or Patrice Evra, so it is great to see us chase a youngster.
Our transfer strategy has changed under David Moyes and we believe signing young players is a great method for success.
Players like Patterson could end up becoming important figures in the team in the future and since we have an opportunity to sign them on the cheap, we could end up making big profit if we decide to sell them on.
It remains to be seen if Patterson is the right option for us currently, but we are keen to see David Sullivan and David Gold splash out on a few youngsters this summer.
In other West Ham news, ‘What a player’ – Noble shares verdict on West Ham target and details who Moyes’ favourite is.
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