TOTTENHAM are pushing to try to agree a deal in principal with St Pat’s next month to sign Mason Melia after he turns 18.
SunSport revealed on Sunday that Melia was over with Spurs for a couple of days in which he was being shown around the training facilities and attended their 4-3 defeat to Chelsea.
As a result of Brexit, Melia cannot move to a British club until the January 2026 window, with his 18th birthday next September.
As well as Spurs, Everton, Crystal Palace and Celtic are all keen.
Melia – who has another two years remaining on his contract – could move to another EU country as early as next month.
Reports suggested that Bologna have submitted a bid worth €2million but no formal offer has been made.
Rather, the Serie A club has indicated that it would be willing to negotiate an overall package which could reach that if all performance-related criteria are met.
SunSport can reveal that Hannover 96 have tabled a similar proposal. They are currently third in Bundesliga 2, one point behind leaders Paderborn.
Because of the interest in the teenager from the Continent – and the disadvantage the club is at – Spurs are keen to advance talks to negotiate an agreement on a future deal.
There have been some suggestions that it the Premier League giants are exploring the possibility of involving Westerlo – with whom they have a strong working relationship, having sent Alfie Devine and Luka Vuskovic on loan to the Belgian club in the summer.
This would see Melia gain experience at a higher level than the League of Ireland prior to joining Tottenham although any such arrangement is a long way off completion.
Melia moved from Bray Wanderers to St Pat’s in the summer of 2022 and made his first-team debut in the Leinster Senior Cup the following January, scoring against Wexford.
His league debut followed in May, becoming the third youngest player to appear in the League of Ireland after Sam Curtis and Evan Ferguson, both of whom are now plying their trade in England.
In 41 Premier Division appearances – 26 of which were off the bench – he has scored eight goals and provided two assists and also caught the eye with his mature play in St Pat’s Europa Conference League run this year.