In 17 year old Elliot Hewitt, Macclesfield Town F.C. have an exciting and prodigious talent. Whilst he is relatively unknown even to fans of League Two, where the Cheshire-based club currently ply their trade, the Welshman has been attracting much attention from a variety of Premier League clubs – Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea to name a few. But why is there such demand for this young defender?
Primarily a right back, Hewitt has become a regular in the Macclesfield Team after making his debut at the back end of last season, making him the club’s youngest player to feature in the Football League. He has already made 10 appearances for his club this season including, most notably, in their 2-1 defeat in the League Cup away to Bolton. After representing them at under 17 level, in August Wales gave him his under 21 debut; he played the full second half of their 2-1 friendly defeat at home to Hungary.
Hewitt could follow the likes of Carl Jenkinson, another right back, to rise rapidly through the lower leagues before signing for Arsenal. Jenkinson, 19, joined Arsenal from Southampton in the summer and has already made a number of appearances for the first team. However with greater competition from the likes of Chelsea and a £1.5 million price-tag Arsenal won’t find it easy to sign him and this may be one player that the club are forced to pass on.
