Leeds United trial for history-making Northern Irish teenager attracting Everton and West Ham United interest
Leeds United have handed an academy trial to a Northern Irish 15-year-old who has already played senior football for Stuart Dallas' former club Crusaders.
Jack Patterson became the Crues' youngest ever player to feature in a competitive game when he came off the bench in January against Warrenpoint Town in the Danske Bank Premiership, aged just 15 years and 78 days old. That run out made him the second youngest player to feature in the division in the last decade.
The midfielder, still only 15, is part of the Club NI elite football programme, the Irish Football Association's attempt to prepare talented youngsters for professional and international football. The programme also helped develop Charlie Allen ahead of his July 2020 move from Linfield to Elland Road.
Both Patterson and Allen, who himself became Linfield's youngest ever debutant with an Irish League appearance aged 15 years, five months and five days, began their footballing journey with Greenisland FC.
After signing for Crusaders at the start of the 2019/20 campaign and working his way up from the Under 16s and Under 18s to the Under 20s Patterson found himself involved in Stephen Baxter's first team, playing the full 90 minutes of a December 2020 friendly against Ards before his league appearance as a substitute the following month.
"What a prospect the boy is," said Baxter after the 4-0 win over Warrenpoint.
"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."
In May Baxter, who was in charge of Crusaders when Dallas broke through, brought Patterson off the bench again in a play-off game against Coleraine and gave him his first start a fortnight later at Glentoran. The teenager lasted 54 minutes in the centre of midfield before he was replaced in the 2-0 defeat.
It was known in January that Everton were taking an interest in him, Rangers are also said to be keen and the Sunday Life reported last week that West Ham United had called Patterson back for a second trial after his positive first impression.
The YEP understands his trial with Leeds was to begin today at Thorp Arch, where Allen is likely to be involved in the Under 23s Premier League 2 game against Tottenham Hotspur.
Allen, also a central midfielder, signed a professional deal with the Whites last December and is contracted until the summer of 2023. Last season he made seven appearances for Mark Jackson's Under 23s, along with 15 outings for the Under 18s.
The 17-year-old was on the bench for the Premier League 2 opener at Crystal Palace and played 90 minutes for the Under 18s in their first league game of the season., a 2-1 win at home to Everton. On Saturday he came off at half-time during the 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest Under 18s.