Celtic, Rangers and Tottenham are among the clubs to be searching for talents in Northern Ireland.
Michael Hutton, the chairman of the Foyle Cup, has told the Belfast Newsletter that scouts from a number of English and Scottish clubs are heading to watch the tournament.
The Foyle Cup kicks off in Northern Ireland today, as one of Europe’s top youth football tournaments gets underway 25 years after its inception.
A host of names have featured in the competition over the years, many of whom who have earned moves off the back of their performances in the tournament and eventually featured in England.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino
The likes of Robbie Keane, John O’Shea, Darron Gibson and Shay Given have all featured, whilst Northern Irish talents such as Daniel Lafferty, Paddy McNair and Paddy McCourt have also played in previous Foyle Cups.
Clubs around Britain will send scouts to watch the competition in search of talents, with some huge clubs potentially looking for the next Robbie Keane to come out of the tournament this year.
Ahead of the competition’s kick off today, the chairman of the Foyle Cup – Michael Hutton – has told the Belfast Newsletter that the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham all have scouts watching on.
Hutton added that Old Firm duo Celtic and Rangers – as well as Scottish rivals Aberdeen and Hearts – will also be attempting to pick out some of the top youth talents in action this week, whilst he praised Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers for his interest in the tournament.
Republic of Ireland’s Robbie Keane
“Hotels are reporting to me more than ever over the past few years and especially this year, that the major clubs in Britain are booking scouts into hotels,” said Hutton. “Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, Sunderland, Sheffield United, Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Aberdeen and many others – will each have several scouts in the city, very much focusing on what Irish talent is available.”
“More and more clubs are looking at the success of Irish players with Premier League club and are determined to find future stars – thereby saving themselves millions of pounds that their clubs cannot afford. More professional clubs are crossing the Irish Sea and it is particularly pleasing to see present Celtic manager – Brendan Rodgers, a former player within the Derry & District Youth Football – identify with the event by encouraging Celtic U14 team to compete,” he added.
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