Irish prodigy swaps his green and pleasant land for the glamour and bling of Milan

The biggest clubs in the world became big by developing the best local talent they could get. But those were the old days. Now, there simply are no boundaries. Kenyan boys are fighting for their place in the pro game in Sweden, young Brazilians are jumping to any chance to test themselves in Portugal and Spain and it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise to see a 16-year-old Irish boy move to Italy.

Republic of Ireland Under-17 international defender Cathal Heffernan joined AS Milan on an initial loan from his local club Cork City, where he'd only become a professional less than a year ago, attracted attention from the Italian giants, who promptly negotiated a temporary deal that could become permanent at the end of the season.

To arrange such a move from Ireland to Italy, you need someone to act as a middle man who knows "people who know people". For young Cathal, that man was Stephen Ireland, the former Manchester City and Aston Villa player.

Sat 18:00: (1.87) Inter (3.70) Milan (4.50)

The Heffernan family is a sporting one. Cathal's father Rob won a medal in athletics at the 2012 London Olympic Games in race walking. He spoke about his son's career move in light of the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, which resulted in the move to Italy being a lot easier for someone from Ireland.

"Cathal had his heart set on going away. He's been on trial at Man United, Burnley, and has been up at Celtic. Italy is going to be a massive challenge for him. It's also a huge opportunity. It's a different culture, there's the language barrier and a different style of play. If nothing comes of it, it's going to be a brilliant opportunity for a fella of 16."

Heffernan’s move to the San Siro Stadium adds to the growing trend in Irish youngsters moving to Italian clubs to progress their careers following the restriction on Under-18s from playing in the UK due to Brexit. So, rather than going to Premier League clubs' academies, they go further south - to Italy.

There are two more Irish boys in the Serie A. Kevin Zefi is training with Inter and James Abankwah is at Udinese.