Nya Kirby was one of Tottenham’s brightest talents. Chelsea wanted him, now he is at Crystal Palace.
Young midfielder Nya Kirby has been given an early chance to make his mark at Crystal Palace by new manager Frank de Boer.
The 17-year-old was handed a debut in midweek against Liverpool in a pre-season friendly, coming off the bench in a 2-0 defeat to the Reds.
Kirby subsequently commented on Twitter expressing his delight at making his bow, insisting it was just the start.
Kirby’s debut kicks off a new chapter on his young career after a controversial past 12 months.
In early 2016 he was in Tottenham’s academy and called up to train with the first team ahead of a Europa League tie with Borussia Dortmund.
Yet he attempted to move to Chelsea last summer, and appeared for one of their youth teams last July, having surprisingly decided he wanted to move on from Tottenham.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy
The Times reported that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy was furious with Chelsea and threatened to report them alleging tapping up, and the Blues backed off bringing him in.
Kirby then signed with Crystal Palace, making it official when he turned 17 earlier this year.
The England youth international will feel as though he has a point to prove, and the central midfielder will hope to continue catching the eye of De Boer this summer.
Crystal Palace boss Frank de Boer
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