Saints boss Stephen Robinson believes academy prospect Murray Campbell has the talent to become a star player.
The 15-year-old defender made a strong impression during St Mirren’s pre-season trip to Belfast.
Campbell started in the Paisley club’s 2-1 win against Linfield on Saturday, as well as playing the second half of their opening 3-0 victory against Crusaders.
A number of English Premier League clubs are understood to be monitoring the Scotland under-16 international. Tottenham and Southampton are the latest to be credited with an interest alongside the likes of Leicester City and Wolves.
Speaking to St Mirren TV, Robinson insists Campbell has a bright future ahead of him as long as he keeps progressing properly.
Robinson said: “He’s 15 years of age, playing in the first team alongside a Scotland international.
“It was a great learning experience for him, especially up against some very good players.
“He was up against Joel Cooper, who has been across the water and played in League One and done very well. A Northern Ireland international.
“It was a good test for him. We always planned to give him 45 minutes to help him progress.
“If he keeps going in the right direction, he’ll be a very good player.”
St Mirren wrapped up their pre-season trip to Northern Ireland in style with a solid 2-1 win against NIFL Premiership champions Linfield, with striker Alex Greive and winger Jonah Ayunga grabbing the goals.
Robinson’s post-match comments hinted that a switch to a 4-3-3 formation looks likely for the coming season.
The Buddies have been mainly using a 3-5-2 formation in recent years, a system first introduced by former boss Jim Goodwin.
Robinson explained: “It’s been a really good, positive week.
“Our boys looked a little tired in the first half (against Linfield) if I’m honest, but we’ve worked them very hard.
“We’ve had double sessions every day. We looked a bit jaded getting going, but that’s what pre-season is about. We need good fitness levels.
“We’ve worked on 4-3-3 for the last two weeks. We looked at 3-5-2 a wee bit too, just to have that option.
“You could see we hadn’t done as much work on it, but there were some really good performances against a very good Linfield side.
“They’re a wee bit ahead of us in terms of fitness and their match preparation.
“We wanted that kind of test and I actually thought we got stronger as the game went on when we found our legs and some of the younger boys came on.”
There was a strong travelling contingent of Saints fans in Belfast at the weekend, with many taking the opportunity to enjoy the nightlife of the capital city after the match.
Robinson hopes the Buddies enjoyed the trip and continue to stick with the club ahead of their first competitive fixture of the season this Saturday against Arbroath.
He added: “Coming over to Belfast, it’s a brilliant city and a brilliant country.
“I’m sure the fans enjoyed themselves over here. As they have been since I came in, they were terrific.
“The boys really appreciate it. You saw them all going over at the end, to thank the fans.
“We need that. We need to be together as a club to be able to continue to move forward.”
