Leeds United, Middlesbrough and Hull in transfer hunt for wonderkid defender | OneFootball

Transfer speculation is hotting up as the January window closes in on opening, with there now being just over a month before the mid-season market gets underway.

And a number of Championship clubs are said to be interested in one of the Republic of Ireland's hottest talents right now in the form of defender Sam Curtis.

There can be real bargains to be had across the Irish Sea, with many youth players being plucked from the Emerald Isle who then go on to become regulars in the Premier League and the EFL.

The next one of those could be Curtis, who has had a rapid rise in professional football so far and is seeing himself wanted by plenty of clubs in England.

According to a report from 90min, the Championship trio of Leeds United, Hull City and Middlesbrough are all interested in signing the 17-year-old, who could be good enough to immediately slot into a second tier starting 11 given his progress.

Who is Sam Curtis?

After playing for prominent Dublin schoolboy team St. Kevin's Boys, Curtis signed for Shamrock Rovers in 2019, and in 2020 he made his senior debut at the age of just 14 in a League of Ireland First Division - the second tier of Irish football - match for Shamrock's reserve team.

That was a record-breaking appearance as the youngest ever LoI player, and after going on trial with Bayer Leverkusen and AS Roma in the summer of 2021, Curtis opted to remain in Ireland and sign for St. Patrick's Athletic.

And it has been at Richmond Park where Curtis has gone from strength-to-strength - he made his senior debut just a few weeks after joining the club but it was the 2022 season, which he was 16 years of age in for the most part, where the teenager began to play regularly.

Playing in a variety of positions such as right-back, centre-back and wing-back, Curtis finished the 2022 campaign with 18 league appearances and three assists under his belt, whilst also winning the Irish Under-18 International Player of the Year.

2023 has been even more successful for Curtis, who has now become a regular in Ireland's under-21's squad despite being just 17, played week in, week out for St. Pat's as they won the FAI Cup two weeks ago, and he was also named in the League of Ireland's Team of the Season.

Who else is interested in Sam Curtis?

With the rapid rise in Curtis' career at both club and international level, there was bound to be Premier League clubs interested as well - and some of the biggest names in the country are keen.

90min also claim that Man City, Man United, Liverpool and Tottenham have all registered their interest, and City's interest is not new as they were pursuing Curtis last year.

However, Curtis would likely head into an under-21's squad if he signed for a Premier League club, whereas Championship clubs could offer the youngster immediate first-team football given his talent levels.

Curtis has been all-but confirmed as an exit from the club at the start of 2024 with his contract expiring and manager Jon Daly revealing his desire to move on to a bigger side, but who he lands at remains to be seen.