Fulham teenager Luke Harris is set to be called up to Wales which could take him all the way to the World Cup in Qatar.
Harris has been on the bench for Fulham for three of their four Premier League games this season and made his Carabao Cup debut at Crawley.
The 17-year-old attacking midfielder has developed rapidly at Craven Cottage, with an 11-minute hat-trick against Newcastle among his 13 goals in 17 league appearances for Fulham Under-23s last season.
Earlier this month, Harris scored a Premier League 2 hat-trick against a Chelsea side featuring Ben Chilwell, Ethan Ampadu and Trevoh Chalobah.
Wales will play Nations League games against Belgium and Poland next month, and Harris is a strong candidate to replace injured Fulham team-mate Harry Wilson in Robert Page’s squad.
Page said: “We’ve been to watch his games and he’s doing really well.
“He’s an absolute talent. I’ve met him and his family and he’s a great boy too.
“He has a bright future ahead of him, so we will have a dialogue.
“There is little time between now and then (the Nations League team is named) so we will have to wait and see what happens.”
Harris, born in Jersey, also qualifies for England. But he was capped by Wales at various youth levels and scored against England in a 1-1 U18 draw at Newport last September.
Wales are confident Harris will commit to them at senior level, and FIFA’s decision to approve bigger 26-man squads for Qatar could give him a passport to the World Cup.
Page used extended 26-man squads at Euro 2020 to call up Cardiff striker Rubin Colwill for the first time.
Colwill, 19 at the time, had started just three league games for Cardiff before making his international debut.
“I don’t think there will be too many surprises in the (World Cup) squad,” Page said, speaking to the PA news agency while on behalf of the campaign. Eat Well, Play Well from M&S Food.
“I am a loyal person and if someone has done well for me I will show it back.
“Fortunately, we have 26 instead of 23, and that gives me the opportunity to take on a few more players like we did at the Euros.
“We have a few that I could present in September and let’s see how it goes.
“If people grab an opportunity with both hands and we like what we see, then they haven’t hurt themselves.
“They could open my eyes to the possibility of taking them to Qatar.”
