Chelsea, Man Utd and Real Madrid fight over 15-YEAR-OLD wonderkid
Chelsea, Manchester United and a host of other clubs are keeping an eye on 15-year-old wonderkid Julian Hall.
The New York Red Bulls teenager recently became the second-youngest debutant in Major League Soccer history and is widely regarded as one of the United States' biggest prospects. A winger by trade, Hall is the latest talent that the Red Bulls' conveyor belt has produced in recent years and he could soon join the ranks of Tyler Adams and Caden Clark in making the move to Europe from New Jersey.
The Evening Standard reports that Hall burst onto Chelsea's radar when he scored against the Blues in a U15 match at the prestigious Generation Adidas Cup in the spring. The London giants have been scouting him ever since.
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Indeed, the above-mentioned report states that they have even tried to get him to come to their Cobham training ground for a trial, but the fact that he recently signed a new contract with NYRB gives the MLS side the ability to block such an approach.
Transfer battle
If Hall keeps going on his current trajectory, a massive transfer battle will develop as he gets older. Besides Chelsea and Man Utd, Man City, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are all keeping tabs on the youngster.
However, NYRB are under no apparent pressure to sell. Backed, as they are, by Red Bull, they can offer the 15-year-old a clear pathway to the pinnacle of European football without him ever exiting their football network's orbit - both of the aforementioned Adams and Clark joined regular Champions League participants RB Leipzig after impressing in MLS.
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Hall has a Polish passport which would make a move to Europe much easier for him than for most non-Europeans. The youngster scored two goals in 10 games during the MLS Next Pro - the top flight's development league - regular season.