Wolves complete £1m transfer for Rochdale starlet Luke Matheson, 17, after Man Utd goal heroics
WOLVES have completed the signing of Rochdale whizkid Luke Matheson for £1million.
The teenage right-back passed a medical at Molineux on Friday after being targeted as a long-term challenger to Matt Doherty.
Now he will instantly head back to Spotland to spend the rest of the season on loan at Rochdale after penning his deal with Premier League outfit.
Following the acquisition of the England U18 international, Wolves sporting director Kevin Thelwell said: “Our recruitment team have watched Luke since he made his debut at 15.
“He’s still only 17 and has made a lot of appearances for Rochdale in League One, which is a very good standard, and had strong games in the cups, particularly this season against Manchester United and Newcastle United.
“The system we play, it’s set up for him. He plays at right-back for Rochdale at the moment, but he’s a right-wing back in our eyes because of his energy and ability to continually sprint and recover.
“At 17, for a boy to have so much experience, be English and have such a strong mentality is fantastic and we think he’s everything we’re about.
“He’s playing so often at Rochdale, so we’re sending him back there on loan, to continue to get experience and that should hopefully give him more game time.
“Then he’ll come back to us for the start of pre-season in the summer.
“It’s great for all of us to get him in the building, we’re really excited and we think he’s going to be a top talent.”
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Matheson made headlines when breaking onto the scene as a 15-year-old.
He became Rochdale’s youngest ever player when making his debut against Bury and has cemented his place as a first-team regular this campaign.
And he strengthened his reputation even further with a fine finish at Manchester United in the Carabao Cup in September.