Cross-channel clubs tracking teenager Jamie

Jamie Davidson, who plays for Ballymena United Reserves, is currently awaiting confirmation of a date for a a trial, with a posse of English clubs tracking the winger.

Barclays Premiership sides Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Swansea City have expressed an interest in seeing Jamie at first hand, as have Championship side Brighton and Hove Albion.

“There are people working on that side of things and it will be a question of choosing which is the best option for me,” Jamie told Times Sport.

The 18-year-old has caught the eye of cross-channel scouts with his performances for his club and also in recent trials for the Northern Ireland under-18 team.

Jamie, whose father Roy is a former Ballymena United player and who is also well-known in local junior football circles, has been on the fringes of United’s first team and recently made his debut against Glenavon, in one of previous United boss Roy Walker’s last games in charge.

Jamie, from Grove Road in the town, already holds a unique place in the club’s history books by becoming the first player to come through the Showgrounds club’s youth ranks from the age of SIX years old to play in the first team.

“There have obviously been players like Aaron Stewart and Chris Rodgers who have come through the Youth Academy but when they started, the youngest team was under-12,” Ballymena United Youth Academy’s Head Coach Stanley Galbraith told Times Sport.

“Jamie is a bit diffeent in that he came through the mini soccer which we used to have in Cullybackey High School on a Tuesday night, so he’s been with us since the age of six.

“He’s a smashing kid with a left foot to die for and it’s been great to watch his development as a footballer over the years,” added Stanley.

His sentiments were echoed by United reserve team manager Clifford Adams, who believes Jamie’s development is progressing well.

“Jamie had a couple of setbacks early on in the season with a couple of suspensions but he has really come into his own in the last three months.

“He’s always the first boy to training and the last one off the pitch at the end - he just loves football.

“He’s our top scorer this season and the goals that other players have scored, he’s been involved in setting up a good number of them,” added Cliffy.