Leeds United appear to have won the race for talented Linfield youngster Charlie Allen, with the attacking midfielder set to join the Championship leaders.
The 16-year-old is highly-regarded in Northern Ireland and his ability has caught the eye and it had been reported that Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham were among the clubs monitoring the teenager, along with the Whites. However, further details emerged earlier in the week suggesting that Rangers had jumped ahead of those clubs and had actually made a concrete offer to Allen that they were hoping he would sign.
That hasn’t happened though, with the Belfast Telegraph revealing this morning that the youngster will link up with Leeds United after deciding that his development will be best served in Yorkshire.
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Given the high-profile clubs that had been competing for Allen’s signature, this is a coup for Leeds United and they will have big hopes for the player in the years to come. And, it continues the Whites approach of identifying young players for the future, as the club have been active in the market on that front over the years, with the likes of Leif Davis, Jordan Stevens and Mateusz Bogusz just some of the players who moved to Elland Road as teenagers.
Allen will be hoping that he will be joining a Premier League club too, as Marcelo Bielsa’s side currently hold a seven-point lead over third-placed Fulham with just nine games to play. Plus, they would win promotion if sporting merit is applied and there is the real possibility that they could go up without kicking another ball.