Cathal Heffernan, the son of Irish Olympians Rob and Marian Heffernan, is set for a series of training sessions with Juventus, Roma, Atalanta and AC Milan in Italy.
The talented 15-year-old defender is currently part of the Cork City underage academy. He has captained the Republic of Ireland under-15s and turned a lot of heads in England.
Post-Brexit, Irish players are not be allowed to move to the UK before they turn 18, however they are permitted to go to other European countries from the age of 16.
It means promising footballers from these shores are weighing up their chances at some exotic and glamorous clubs. Shamrock Rovers' Kevin Zefi is expected to move to Inter Milan later this year.
Rob Heffernan is one of Ireland's most decorated athletes. He won bronze over 20km at the European Championships in Barcelona in 2010, Olympic bronze over 50km at the 2012 London Games and the World 50km Race Walk title in Moscow in 2013.
Marian Heffernan was part of Ireland's 4x400m relay team in London.
On Monday, Douglas Community School tweeted a good luck message to Cathal, who attends there. Adam Idah is another past pupil at Douglas which has a strong reputation for producing good footballers.
The very best of luck to DCSFC star Cathal Heffernan as heads to Italy for training with @juventusfcen @acmilan @ASRomaEN & @Atalanta_BC
— DCS Sport (@DCSSport) March 8, 2021
A brilliant opportunity for Cathal who is a credit to his School, his club Cork City and his family. pic.twitter.com/V3h4VnSoMp
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