The Scottish Sun reports that both Rangers and Celtic are ‘keeping tabs’ on a St Mirren starlet.
Dylan Reid is only 14 but is attracting attention from some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
St Mirren starlet targeted by European giants Benfica and Bayern Munichhttps://t.co/uTIoxMEZpN pic.twitter.com/iSILH4yben
— Scottish Sun Sport (@scotsunsport) December 12, 2019
The young midfielder, who has already been capped by Scotland at U16 level, is said to have been training with Benfica this week, while he’s due to fly to Germany for sessions with the Bayern Munich Academy in early 2020.
“Dylan has been doing extremely well and working hard to improve himself,” said Allan McManus, the Head of Youth at St Mirren, as quoted by the Scottish Sun.
“Some big clubs are recognising that and have come to us with requests for him to visit them.
“It’s fantastic experience for him, but we hope to continue working with him in the years ahead and striving towards getting him into our first team.”
Graeme Murty and Craig Mulholland are building a formidable Academy setup. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Verdict
It seems highly unlikely that given the interest from clubs of this calibre, young Reid will be with the Buddies for much longer.
However, given his age, he and his family clearly have plenty of time to decide on which route to go down next.
Should he opt to stay in Scotland, it seems the Gers are on red alert.
That’s hardly surprising, given the Academy’s considerable recent track record of bringing in talent from elsewhere.
The likes of Nathan Young-Coombes and Kane Ritchie-Hosler have been recruited from Premier League Academies in the last year, while Umaro Balde was brought in from abroad, having spent time with the Sporting Lisbon youth system.
There’s a commitment from the Rangers Academy to dominating the domestic scene and competing with the very best youth systems in Europe.
That is translating to results on the pitch and just last weekend, the Gers U16s were crowned league champions.