Transfer Rumour: Arsenal FC, Liverpool and Manchester City in pursuit of 15-year-old wonderkid Matt O’Riley

Premier League giants Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City are reportedly interested in Fulham’s exciting teenage midfield prospect Matt O’Riley.

English daily The Sun have reported that 15-year-old Fulham midfield sensation Matt O’Riley is drawing interest from Premier League clubs. The likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City are all keeping tabs on the player, who has been impressive in the U18 Premier League for the Cottagers.

The youngster is yet to agree to join the youth squad of Fulham and there are fears that the interest from the Premier League trio could sway O’Riley away from Craven Cottage. O’Riley is regarded as one of the best up and coming talents in England and is one of the many talented youngsters produced by Fulham in recent times.

Fulham may fear that O’Riley will follow in the footsteps of young forward Moussa Dembele, who moved away to Celtic and has been sensational for them thus far. Manager Slavisa Jokanovic is keen to promote the player to the first team setup by next season in the hope of convincing O’Riley and his parents to decide in favour of staying at Fulham despite interest from the big clubs.

The player has been lauded for his technical ability and his playing style has been compared to that of Italian legend Andrea Pirlo. Fulham, though, could pocket a compensation amounting to over £1m as, if the player does decide against staying at Fulham, his transfer would fall outside of the Elite Player Performance Plan guidelines for calculation of compensation.

The Fulham teenager has already featured for the England U16 side and would look to break into the first-team fold soon enough. Fulham may not be able to match the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City in terms of facilities and coaching staff, but the Cottagers can provide O’Riley the quickest path to senior first team football, which they will hope plays an important role in his decision.