West Ham, Tottenham and Chelsea are all chasing Cork City starlet Joe O’Brien-Whitmarsh.
And the talented teenager has been told 'the sky's the limit' on his career as he continues to turn heads here and further afield.
Attacking midfielder O’Brien-Whitmarsh - 18 tomorrow - is a product of the Rebels academy and has scored twice in his last three games for the first-team.
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He has 10 appearances this season, but played his first 90-minutes in last Friday’s 3-2 defeat to St Pat’s where he scored.
O’Brien-Whitmarsh was on trial with West Ham in 2021 - and also Preston North End - and the Hammers have retained a keen interest since then.
They trounced Arsenal 5-1 in the FA Youth Cup final two weeks ago and are keen to snap up the best young players around.
But reports in England claim Premier League rivals Tottenham and Chelsea are also eager to enter the race for his signature.
Cork City remain managerless following Colin Healy’s decision to step down last week, but assistant Richie Holland is aware of the O’Brien-Whitmarsh speculation.
“It wouldn't surprise me to be honest as he's a very good player and we can all see the quality he has at his age,” said Holland yesterday.
“At the moment, Joe is just concentrating on Cork City and getting his games here in the first-team.
“But he’s a very good player. He has come through the academy and we’ve always known that he was coming, let's put it that way.
“You saw the performances he had at underage and with the Irish teams. Then he got a bad injury but has come back.
“He’s been very professional in terms of his rehab and he looks stronger now for his age, because of the work he has done.
“You see him in duels and he’s able to deal with players now. He’s always been very good technically on the ball and has an eye for goal from midfield which is great.”
Holland reckons O’Brien-Whitmarsh - who also scored against Shelbourne - is showing maturity beyond his years despite the Rebels languishing in ninth place.
“When a younger player comes up you always know by the players - if they’re having him and, first session you could see it, the boys were having him straight away,” he said.
“You could see the qualities he had and he will get better. Joe always wants more information and he’s always looking to improve and get better.
“The sky's the limit for him really. But as a player, he has to keep performing to get there.
“We’ve a brilliant academy manager here in Liam Kearney and Liam has experience of going across the way (to Nottingham Forest).
“He has lived that, so Joe has people here who will advise him of the rights and wrongs of how to deal with (a potential move).”
Meanwhile, Cork City fear their Swedish midfielder Albin Winbo could be facing a prolonged spell on the sidelines.
He suffered a serious knee injury in the 5-0 defeat to Bohemians and missed last week’s clash with St Pat’s, where the Rebels lost their fifth game in-a-row.
City have not ruled out ligament damage but cannot say yet if Winbo has a cruciate injury.
“It could be either or,” added Holland. “The swelling is bad at the moment and we just have to wait for it to settle down but it looks like a bad one. It’s a big blow for the boy.”
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