The 15-year-old Leeds United midfielder set to become a million-pound footballer before playing at first-team level

Leeds United are reportedly on the verge of selling Finley Gorman to Manchester City for a seven-figure long without the attacking midfielder ever having played first-team football.

By Stuart Rayner

Published 13th Nov 2023, 14:30 BST

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Increasingly clubs are trying to snap up young talent before they make their name at senior level, as Leeds did with the likes of Sam Greenwood (who Arsenal bought from Sunderland's academy before he moved to Elland Road), Charlie Allen, Mateo Joseph, Cody Drameh, Lewis Bate and Diogo Monteiro.

Gorman is only 15 years-old and City are expected to break the British transfer record for a player of his age, according to The Athletic.

As a 14-year-old Gorman scored twice in a Premier League Under-18 fixture – the youngest player to do so – and made his England Under-16s debut.

He is unable to sign a professional contract until his 17th birthday, in September 2025, but is already seen as a million-pound commodity.

Leeds' record domestic sale saw another midfielder, Kalvin Phillips, move to Manchester City but the England international's £47m switch has not been a success. Darko Gyabi, then 18, moved in the opposite direction for £5m.

Manchester City Sam Greenwood Kalvin Phillips England