Ayr United have held off the advances of several English Premiership clubs as well as Rangers and Celtic, to secure the youngest ever Honest Man, 15 year old Mark Shankland, on a two year deal at the club.
The striker made history when he became the club’s youngster ever player when he took the field against Brechin City as a substitute last month, aged just 15 years and 300 days old, and he has now agreed to make the step up from Ayr’s Youth Academy to Brian Reid’s first team squad.
Somerset Park Chairman Lachlan Cameron beamed, “Mark has a bright future ahead of him and we believe that to leave to play in England or the Old Firm at this stage of his career would be the wrong move for him or indeed any of our youngsters. You have to remember he is still only 15 and we felt that he could progress much more by staying at Ayr.”
Cameron advised that Liverpool are already monitoring Shankland’s progress saying, “Mark was invited to attend the Liverpool Academy recently for a week’s training. He played in a couple of trial matches and scored twice against Sheffield United and Liverpool have indicated that they will keep a close eye on Mark while he continues his development here.”
The youngster said, “I am delighted to sign for Ayr. The Academy coaches are brilliant and the backroom staff have advised me about how I can progress here, whereas I might fall into the cracks at a team the size of the Old Firm.”
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