Stephen Kenny: Record transfer fee is 'symbolic' breakthrough but Melia is 'unique'

St Patrick's Athletic manager Stephen Kenny acknowledged the "symbolism" of Mason Melia becoming the League of Ireland's first ever million euro player but was sceptical that the move would open the floodgates on similar big-money transfers.

The 17-year old's deal with Tottenham Hotspur was a dominant topic of conversation at the 2025 League of Ireland launch at the Mansion House in Dublin, with most of Kenny's discussions with the media consumed with the news.

The initial deal is worth £1.5m (€1.8m), possibly rising to £3.5m (€4.2m) with a 20% sell on.

The transfer was partly made possible by the post-Brexit dispensation, in which Irish players are unable to sign for UK clubs until they turn 18. And Kenny pointed out that prior to 2020, a player of Melia's potential would have been in England from the age of 16, making comparisons with talented Irish youngsters of the past tricky.

"It's unusual because it's difficult to compare. In other eras, the real elite, elite centre-forward of the international team (standard) would probably be in England at 16," says Kenny.

"Obviously, the advent of Brexit has changed that somewhat. It’s a bit unusual to have a 16-year-old centre-forward leading the line in Azerbaijan (against Sabah), and in Istanbul against experienced international defenders and doing well.

"That’s what marked him out, the fact he had the capacity to do that."

While the signing was greeted as something of a breakthrough, Kenny argued it would not be easily replicable given Irish football's infrastructural deficits and stressed that Melia was a "unique" player.

"I am personally not hung up on the fee but I get the big picture and the symbolism of that. But certainly, it is interesting because we are in our infancy since