Fulham’s academy has been a hotbed of budding talents in recent years.
Indeed, the Whites have produced the likes of Harvey Elliott, Mousa Dembele, Fabio Carvalho and Matt O’Riley in recent years, while, as many Spurs fans will know, Ryan Sessegnon and Djed Spence are also products of Fulham’s system.
There will certainly be many eyes on Fulham’s U21s to see who is next, and we may have just found out the answer to that question.
Indeed, on Monday evening, Ollie O’Neill netted a fantastic hat-trick against Leicester City’s U21s.
Usually, a hat-trick at U21 level wouldn’t necessarily be too eyebrow-raising, but O’Neill achieved this feat against a backline that contained a genuine senior Premier League regular in Jannik Vestergaard, so the standard was higher than you’d usually get at that level.
However, despite Leicester fielding a strong side, Fulham made mincemeat of the Foxes, running out 7-0 winners with O’Neill finding the net three times.
Of course, the Irishman was strongly linked with both West Ham and Tottenham over the summer by The Athletic, but he committed his future to Fulham when signing a new three-year deal.
However, this is clearly a player that is on Spurs and the Hammers’ radar, and performances like this aren’t likely to put any of his potential suitors off.
As the likes of Elliott, Carvalho and Sessegnon have shown, Fulham’s academy products are often there for the taking, especially if you’re a bigger club, and with all due respect to the Cottagers, Tottenham and West Ham are currently more appealing destinations.
The Whites will surely be hoping that it’s a different story with O’Neill, but as long as he keeps making headlines, he’ll continue to be linked with some of the biggest clubs in the Premier League.
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