Pic: Newcastle Benfield FC
JACK DEVLIN has been told he can go as far as he wants after swapping Step 5 football with Newcastle Benfield for Premier League side Stoke City.
The 19-year-old impressed in a couple of trial games and was invited down to Staffordshire so that Stoke could take a closer look.
And they clearly liked what they saw as Devlin has completed his move to the Potteries after starring in the Northern League this season, making his Stoke debut on Tuesday night in the victory at Rushall Olympic in the Staffordshire Senior Cup.
He only joined Benfield in November from rivals North Shields, who he had scored 25 times for in 26 games, but has already earned a dream move into the Premier League.
Benfield assistant Craig Heward told Chronicle Live: “It’s brilliant, he works so hard, there’s nobody who works harder than Jack, so it is fantastic news.
“You look at the Jamie Vardy story. Jack was too good for this league, and he can go as far as he wants to go. He scores spectacular goals, he is very direct, he is good at running with the ball, he is very good in the air and he knows where the goal is, so he has all the attributes to be a top class number nine. He has been a revelation for us.
“I’ve spoken to Jack and he’s over the moon. To be honest it’s been coming for the last couple of weeks and they’ve just finally managed to get everything over the line in the last day or two.
“He is quite down to earth so I can’t see it going to his head. Let’s hope he keeps his feet on the ground but he has good people around him, giving him good advice and it’s just all about how he does in training and his games and hopefully he can push to try and get in the first team.”
