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The 17-year-old attracted interest from clubs in the Premier League and Europe.
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A teenage prospect linked with a swathe of clubs has made a decision over his future.
Mason Melia is regarded as the hottest prospect in the Republic of Ireland. The 17-year-old forward currently plays for St Patrick’s Athletic and is already a first-team regular. He was handed his debut aged 15 years and 132 days old when scoring off the bench against Wexford in February 2023. He has made a total of 54 appearances for St Pat’s netting 10 goals and played in the Dublin-based side’s Europa Conference League qualifiers in the summer. He is also the youngest player to have won the FAI Cup.
It has been no surprise that Melia has attracted interest aplenty. Everton were one of the clubs who were reportedly keen on prising the youngster from the Emerald Isle to Goodison Park along with Manchester City, Chelsea, Celtic and Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.
However, Tottenham Hotspur have won the race. Melia has agreed to join Spurs in January 2026. He cannot move to North London until he turns 18 because of post-Brexit rules. Tottenham have reportedly paid €2 million although that fee could rise to €4 million and they have a 20 per cent sell-on clause. That is a record fee for a League of Ireland player.
Irish recruitment
Everton have used the Irish market to their advantage on several occasions. Most famously, the Toffees recruited Seamus Coleman from Sligo Rover for just £60,000 in 2009. The right-back has etched himself into Goodison folklore, making 426 appearances and scoring 28 goals, and is the current club captain. Last month, Coleman took the team alongside Leighton Baines for a 2-0 FA Cup win over Peterborough United after Sean Dyche was sacked as manager.
Shane Duffy moved to Everton a year earlier and while he made only 10 appearances, the centre-back went on to be a Premier League regular at Brighton & Hove Albion and still plays for Championship side Norwich City.
Last summer, Everton fended off competition to bring Braiden Graham to Merseyside. The forward became Linfield’s youngest player when he made his bow aged 15 years and 137 days in November 2023 and scored his first goal the following month after turning 16.
Graham has made an eye-catching impression since moving to the Blues. In November, when he turned 17, he was rewarded with a professional contract as he penned a three-year deal. The Northern Ireland youth international has fired seven goals in 14 times for Everton under-18s this season.