Oldham Athletic have confirmed they have agreed to sell 15-year-old forward Zak Emmerson to Brighton and Hove Albion.
The fee is undisclosed, but the Brighton Argus has reported it to be £130,000.
This summer’s transfer window opens on July 27 when former Manchester United academy player Emmerson can be registered by the Seagulls.
Emmerson made his debut at the start of the 2019-20 season as the youngest ever player to represent the club and the second youngest in the EFL, at 15 years and 73 days old.
Latics, on their website, pointed out that Emmerson is another product of the academy following in recent years the footsteps of George Edmundson and James Tarkowski who have been sold for a substantial sum.
Emmerson made three first-team appearances during last season and was handed his first ever professional start in the Leasing.com Trophy against Fleetwood Town in November.
Academy head Paul Murray was full of praise for the striker, explaining: “I’d like to start by congratulating Zak on his move and it is something that will completely change his life.
“He is a part of a growing group of players now who have graduated from the academy and gained professional deals, whether that be at Oldham or elsewhere, and as a result has become another real asset to the club.
“It’s been a year since I came back in my current role, and in that time due to the hard work of everyone involved in the academy setup we’ve seen a massive change in the culture and most importantly the mentality of the players.
“Zak has epitomised all of the values we want from our players and has been at the forefront of this with his mentality, attitude and work ethic. At such a young age he is mature beyond his years.
“It’s a great lesson to others as he’s had an opportunity thanks to the head coach for putting him into the team and has taken it at the first time of asking. As a result, he was spotted by Brighton and they’ve kept an eye on him ever since.
“He’s a very grounded person and I know Brighton will take really good care of him. They’re a club that like to nurture and improve their young players and I fully believe we’ll see him in the international youth setups in the not too distant future.”