Stephen Kenny: Mason Melia doesn't need any 'undue pressure' for season ahead
St Patrick's Athletic manager Stephen Kenny says his 17-year old striker Mason Melia could have moved to the continent this year but the transfer to Tottenham Hotspur was the one he really wanted.
Melia made history by becoming the league's first million euro player after Pat's and Spurs agreed on an initial fee of €1.8m, with the Wicklow-born centre-forward joining the Premier League club on 1 January 2026.
It is believed that the figure could rise to £3.5m (€4.2m) with a 20% sell on.
Due to Brexit rules, Melia is unable to join an English club until after his 18th birthday in September and will officially join at the start of the next January transfer window upon completing a medical.
Kenny said that the player could have gone to clubs on the continent in the past couple of years but was willing to wait for the move he wanted.
"Garrett Kelleher, the (Pat's) owner, was highly involved in negotiations, that's certainly outside my remit," Kenny told RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland.
"He could have gone to Italy, Germany or Belgium - he could have moved there (to those countries) this year or last year - but he got the move that he wanted.
"I think the move to Tottenham is the one that he really wanted."
The teenager has made 41 league appearances for Pat's since his debut in the 2023 season and became the youngest goalscorer in LOI history when he found the net in Pat's 7-0 win over UCD at the age of 15 in June 2023.
He played an increased number of games in Pat's 2024 season, as well as their Europa Conference League campaign, which saw them reach the play-off round, losing narrowly to Istanbul Basaksehir.
"We played six games in the Europa Conference League qualifiers last year and as a 16-year old, he played as the lone striker,