WHAT Steven Gerrard and Ashley Cole may find impossible, Theo Walcott has managed at the age of 15. The lure of Chelsea, and Roman Abramovich’s billions, looks likely to attract two of England’s star players this summer but Walcott, who is rated by one respected scout as the best of his age group in Europe, has turned down the riches on offer at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are understood to have been willing to pay as much as £2 million for the schoolboy who, even before he takes his GCSEs, already has an agent and a boot deal. The West London club have led a pack that has also included Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Real Madrid.
Walcott and his family needed only to click their fingers and every leading club — and every ravenous agent — would have been on their doorstep in Compton, near Newbury, but the teenager will commit himself shortly to Southampton, where he has progressed through the academy. He will become instantly the club’s most valuable asset, even though he spends most of his week studying art and geography.
Walcott’s prodigious talents have long been known among the country’s talent-spotters. It is only in the past few months that word has begun to creep out among the footballing public. He scored one and set up two as an underage player when England Under-17 beat France 3-1 last month. In midweek, the right-sided forward scored a spectacular goal with his left foot as Southampton knocked Arsenal out of the FA Youth Cup.
His rise explains the South Coast club’s eagerness to tie him to a deal that will put him on scholarship terms of £80 a week until his 17th birthday. That is the minimum age for professional contracts and the subsequent two years will outstrip any previous deal for a 17-year-old — even Wayne Rooney’s.
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The sums could have been far more lucrative if he had created an auction among leading clubs, but his parents and agents, Key Sports, believed that it could be self-destructive to chase after the money. “You get a lot of interest from agents when you have a kid of Theo’s talent and I am sure we could have touted him around,” Don, his father, said.
“But there are so many stories where it has gone wrong, either because of the social background or attitude problems. We think Southampton have given him the best chance and their reputation as one of the best academies in the country is deserved.
“He had a look at Chelsea when he was 11, but we haven’t taken him off to other clubs recently. That would have been deceitful and it would have been doing things for the wrong reasons. We don’t think about the monetary side but as parents. We are also fortunate to have good people around us like Key Sports. They are thinking of his long-term interests.”
Walcott, who idolises Thierry Henry, has already played among adults for Southampton’s reserve team. With his 16th birthday almost a month away, time is on his side to become the youngest player in Premiership history, although the club’s predicament at the foot of the table could delay his debut. Aaron Lennon is the record-holder after playing for Leeds United aged 16 years and 129 days.
Walcott’s school has been giving him permission to take one day off a week to train at Southampton, where he is already the second-quickest at the club behind Darren Kenton. “He ran the 100 metres in 11.7 seconds at the age of 14,” his father said. “He could have gone into athletics. I used to sprint for the Civil Service but he’s got the ability to run with a ball at his feet.
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“He never played football before he was 10. He went on a Coca-Cola course and in his first full season he scored over 100 goals. He became involved with Southampton at 11 but it is probably only since he came into the England Under-17s that it has become difficult to keep a lid on things.”
The success of Southampton’s academy, and Walcott’s decision to stay, is a rare piece of good news in a difficult season at St Mary’s. Better still was that the youth team’s victory over Arsenal was achieved with ten British teenagers.
There have been plenty of tales of young talent unfulfilled but, in spurning bigger offers, Walcott’s parents are confident that they have given their son the best chance of following Rooney into the senior England team.