Tottenham Hotspur beat their north London rivals to the signing Mason Melia for a League of Ireland record transfer fee.
Melia has left St Patrick’s Athletic for a reported initial fee of £1.6m and signed a deal that will see him move in January 2026 on a five-year contract.
The unusual timing of the move is due to Brexit-related regulations.
Melia was previously on trial at Manchester City and reportedly had interest from Arsenal.
Chelsea, Everton, Celtic and Bayer Leverkusen were also linked.
Spurs also bolstered their youth ranks with Luca Furnell-Gill from Liverpool, Daniel Batty from Manchester City, and Reiss Russell-Denney from Chelsea, all joining this window.
Prior to this move the record stood at £500,000 when Celtic bought Liam Scales from Shamrock Rovers in 2021.
The 17-year-old made his senior debut for St Patrick’s Athletic in May 2023 and later became the youngest scorer in league history aged 15.
The centre forward has appeared 54 times for the Irish club with 10 goals and three assists to his name.
He was a regular in the squad last season as St Pats progressed to the Europa Conference League qualifying rounds.
“Mason is a terrific talent with an exceptional attitude and a real appetite for hard work,” Kenny told the club’s website,” said St Pat’s manager Stephen Kenny.
“He has had a dramatic impact for one so young, his performances in our Conference League games playing as a central striker against high calibre opposition were of real quality.
“Mason has repeated those performances at international level for Ireland and has a bright future ahead for his country.”
Melia has been a regular in the youth age groups for the Republic of Ireland, representing them at the 2023 European Under-17 Championship finals. He earned his first call-up to the Republic of Ireland Under-21s squad in October, 2024.
Melia embodies what it means to be a modern day striker. Being able to drop deep and link up with teammates or drive with confidence at the opposition.
Speaking about Melia, St Pat’s sporting director Ger O’Brien said: “When we recruited Mason in 2022 we knew we had signed an incredible talent. We had watched his development with St Joseph’s Boys and Bray Wanderers for a number of years.
“He has been fantastic during his three years at the club, and we’re delighted for Mason that he’ll be making the move to the Premier League early next year.
“Mason has really developed, technically, physically and mentally and I’d like to thank all of the coaches who have worked with him in our Academy and also with the First Team over the last three years.
“There has been a lot of interest in Mason from the UK and Europe over the last number of years and our Chairman has been negotiating this deal for a number of months, it’s a record transfer fee for a League of Ireland player and something the club is proud of.”
In regards to the senior team, 19-year-old striker Mathys Tel joined on loan from Bayern Munich to bolster Ange Postecoglou’s injury ridden side alongside goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky.
