MASON MELIA’S VISIT to Tottenham Hotspur just before Christmas was not the first time he made the trip to North London.
They were aware of him even before he chose to sign for St Patrick’s Athletic ahead of Shamrock Rovers in 2021.
The Wicklow native was in the mix at local club Bray Wanderers when he came on Spurs’ radar and got an invite over.
Not long afterwards Melia became the youngest goal scorer in League of Ireland history when he found the net for St Pat’s against UCD at the age of 15 years and 281 days old.
That is when everyone else really began to take notice, too.
Melia’s progress led to the Premier League giants confirming the signing of the 17-year-old last night.
The initial €2 million fee is a record for a League of Ireland player. The add-ons, relating to international appearances, goals and assists, as well as similar progress at his new club, are understood to be “very achievable” and should take the overall package to €4m.
Advertisement
Not only that, St Pat’s have secured not one, but two sell-on clauses. The first is for 20% of any future deal, with the Inchicore club also standing firm to get a percentage of an additional transfer should Melia eventually leave Spurs.
That is long-game thinking which has been part of the Melia Masterplan all along. He will move to his new club after the upcoming Premier Division season once he turns 18 in September.
He could have left now had a transfer to Europe appealed. Bayer Leverkusen showed the strongest interest in the Bundesliga but it was Melia’s preference to wait for the right Premier League move.
It’s why, in the summer of 2023, he rejected a contract from the City Football Group that would have seen him sign for their Belgian club, Lommel SK, in the country’s second tier.
Melia travelled to Manchester with his parents, as well as his uncle Clive Clarke, the former Republic of Ireland defender who also acts as an advisor.
There was no trial game but instead an offer of a long-term deal that would have secured his financial future, plus a signed Erling Haaland jersey as a present.
But Melia wanted a clearer, more visible route to the Premier League. He signed a three-year contract a few days before the 2023 FAI Cup final and there was no release clause or buyout inserted.
The thinking from the club, which Melia and those advising him agreed with, was to not devalue himself with a figure of around €500,000 to €600,000. It helps, of course, that the St Pat’s owner Garrett Kelleher has the financial backing to support such strategic thinking.
Pat’s laid it out to Melia that they wanted to develop him as best they could on the pitch while not settling for anything less than a €1m fee.
Interested clubs were informed of the starting point for any negotiations. “Don’t take the piss,” was a message relayed more than once.
We're delighted to announce that we've reached an agreement with League of Ireland side @StPatsFC for the transfer of Mason Melia.
The 17-year-old forward has agreed a deal that will run until 2031 and will join us in January, 2026.
No one was. A delegation from Everton flew to Dublin last summer to try and complete a deal. A bid in the region of that €1m target was then rejected. Melia also visited Chelsea, while a host of others monitored the situation.
Melia’s performances in Europe, particularly the first leg of the Uefa Conference League play-off against Istanbul Başakşehir at Tallaght Stadium, brought things to a new level.
Senior Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrímsson was also in attendance and really impressed by Melia. It is why the figures now being quoted to clubs in talks were rising rapidly.
Spurs have been at the table since the summer and Celtic also pushed hard in recent months. Not long after Melia’s trip to North London before Christmas, he was also a guest in Glasgow last month.
It wasn’t just a flying visit for a game or some vacuous attempt at wooing him. Melia met with Brendan Rodgers and spent two hours with the first-team manager, during which time it was laid out to him that he would be part of the Celtic first-team squad.
Celtic knew the figures and were pushing hard, but Melia’s preference was the Premier League.
He also knew St Pat’s wanted to make sure he had clarity coming into what will be his last season at the club.
Related Reads
'We shouldn't think it is an inevitability' - Stephen Kenny warning after Mason Melia's Spurs move
'I will be supporting him as a League of Ireland fan, but he is playing catch up'
Virgin Media to show Shelbourne-Derry and Rovers-Bohs live on opening weekend of season
As far back as that offer from Man City, a Melia Masterplan was laid out for him so he could understand exactly what everyone was working towards.
They wanted him to be as ready for any move so basic stuff like arranging for the driving theory test and learning to cook were discussed. It was his performances on the pitch that have led to the record €2m transfer, as well as a contract that runs until 2031.
It was the Tottenham Hotspur Academy page that announced the move on social media but it was their most senior football figures that negotiated the deal.
Melia also met with Ange Postecoglou and after the unveiling last night, he flew back to Dublin to continue his preparations for the new season, and a stage of his career that could also prove transformative for the League of Ireland on the back of this historic transfer.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
5 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
The Mason Melia Masterplan: the inside story on the game-changing €4 million deal
MASON MELIA’S VISIT to Tottenham Hotspur just before Christmas was not the first time he made the trip to North London.
They were aware of him even before he chose to sign for St Patrick’s Athletic ahead of Shamrock Rovers in 2021.
The Wicklow native was in the mix at local club Bray Wanderers when he came on Spurs’ radar and got an invite over.
Not long afterwards Melia became the youngest goal scorer in League of Ireland history when he found the net for St Pat’s against UCD at the age of 15 years and 281 days old.
That is when everyone else really began to take notice, too.
Melia’s progress led to the Premier League giants confirming the signing of the 17-year-old last night.
The initial €2 million fee is a record for a League of Ireland player. The add-ons, relating to international appearances, goals and assists, as well as similar progress at his new club, are understood to be “very achievable” and should take the overall package to €4m.
Not only that, St Pat’s have secured not one, but two sell-on clauses. The first is for 20% of any future deal, with the Inchicore club also standing firm to get a percentage of an additional transfer should Melia eventually leave Spurs.
That is long-game thinking which has been part of the Melia Masterplan all along. He will move to his new club after the upcoming Premier Division season once he turns 18 in September.
He could have left now had a transfer to Europe appealed. Bayer Leverkusen showed the strongest interest in the Bundesliga but it was Melia’s preference to wait for the right Premier League move.
It’s why, in the summer of 2023, he rejected a contract from the City Football Group that would have seen him sign for their Belgian club, Lommel SK, in the country’s second tier.
Melia travelled to Manchester with his parents, as well as his uncle Clive Clarke, the former Republic of Ireland defender who also acts as an advisor.
There was no trial game but instead an offer of a long-term deal that would have secured his financial future, plus a signed Erling Haaland jersey as a present.
But Melia wanted a clearer, more visible route to the Premier League. He signed a three-year contract a few days before the 2023 FAI Cup final and there was no release clause or buyout inserted.
The thinking from the club, which Melia and those advising him agreed with, was to not devalue himself with a figure of around €500,000 to €600,000. It helps, of course, that the St Pat’s owner Garrett Kelleher has the financial backing to support such strategic thinking.
Pat’s laid it out to Melia that they wanted to develop him as best they could on the pitch while not settling for anything less than a €1m fee.
Interested clubs were informed of the starting point for any negotiations. “Don’t take the piss,” was a message relayed more than once.
No one was. A delegation from Everton flew to Dublin last summer to try and complete a deal. A bid in the region of that €1m target was then rejected. Melia also visited Chelsea, while a host of others monitored the situation.
Melia’s performances in Europe, particularly the first leg of the Uefa Conference League play-off against Istanbul Başakşehir at Tallaght Stadium, brought things to a new level.
Senior Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrímsson was also in attendance and really impressed by Melia. It is why the figures now being quoted to clubs in talks were rising rapidly.
Spurs have been at the table since the summer and Celtic also pushed hard in recent months. Not long after Melia’s trip to North London before Christmas, he was also a guest in Glasgow last month.
It wasn’t just a flying visit for a game or some vacuous attempt at wooing him. Melia met with Brendan Rodgers and spent two hours with the first-team manager, during which time it was laid out to him that he would be part of the Celtic first-team squad.
Celtic knew the figures and were pushing hard, but Melia’s preference was the Premier League.
He also knew St Pat’s wanted to make sure he had clarity coming into what will be his last season at the club.
As far back as that offer from Man City, a Melia Masterplan was laid out for him so he could understand exactly what everyone was working towards.
They wanted him to be as ready for any move so basic stuff like arranging for the driving theory test and learning to cook were discussed. It was his performances on the pitch that have led to the record €2m transfer, as well as a contract that runs until 2031.
It was the Tottenham Hotspur Academy page that announced the move on social media but it was their most senior football figures that negotiated the deal.
Melia also met with Ange Postecoglou and after the unveiling last night, he flew back to Dublin to continue his preparations for the new season, and a stage of his career that could also prove transformative for the League of Ireland on the back of this historic transfer.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
League of Ireland mason melia Premier League Soccer St. Patrick's Athletic Tottenham Hotspur