Man City and Arsenal are vying for the 17-year-old Waterford sensation.
Premier League rivals Manchester City and Arsenal have joined Southampton in the chase to sign Waterford’s highly-rated striker Romeo Akachukwu.
The 17-year-old, who played a big role in Waterford’s success in winning promotion this season with a hat-trick in their First Division play-off semi-final win over Athlone Town, is in demand after a successful campaign with club and country as he also impressed for Ireland at the U-17 Euro finals last summer.
Southampton and Newcastle United were the early front-runners to sign the striker, and while it’s believed that Magpies boss Eddie Howe was involved in talks at one stage, the Saints expressed the strongest interest.
Southampton made a bid which would be a new record for a player from a League of Ireland club, worth in excess of the €500,000 Sunderland paid Cork City for Roy O’Donovan in 2007 and also up on the €450,000 Shamrock Rovers got from Manchester City for Gavin Bazunu, though the Hoops later received more based on bonuses and international caps.
It’s believed that the Southampton bid is still on the table and has not formally been rejected by Waterford but the Blues are keen to maximise the potential to earn from the sale of Akachukwu, while Waterford’s parent club, League One side Fleetwood Town, are also eager to land him.
Manchester City and Arsenal are also on his case but they would be likely to bring him in initially at academy level while Southampton have promised Akachukwu a quick route to first-team football.
Akachukwu, who is on Euro qualification duty with the Ireland U-19s in Albania this week, has two years left on his Waterford deal but cannot complete a move to a UK club until he turns 18 in July.
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