05 November 2008. Zele Ismail is just 15 years old, but is already bid by Chelsea and Manchester City, with City already offering £2.5m.

The academy player Zele Ismail, who moved to the Midlands from Macedonia when he was two, has stunned scouts with his pace and skill, being voted the Player of the Tournament in the prestigious Milk Cup event - the same stage at which David Beckham and Joe Cole first came to prominence.

Presently, he plays for the Championship leaders Wolves and is being tipped to become football’s first £100million player.

Chelsea seems determined to splash the cash on the world's best emerging talent and is expected to make the deal - although Wolves will demand a record fee for a player of his age.

Ismail, who is expected to represent England despite his Macedonian roots, scored twice against Arsenal in a recent youth team game when he was playing with youngsters three or four years older, and Wolves face a massive fight to keep him.

However, they have Ismail under contract and it would take a proper transfer fee, rather than a compensation tribunal, to allow any move to happen - with all the big clubs monitoring the situation.

Even that fee is unlikely to make a dent in Wolves’ determination to keep a tight hold on the youngster who is rated the outstanding player of his age in the country.

The Midlands club have thrown a protective shield around Ismail since he joined them after arriving in England with his Serbian-born parents five years ago.

The ‘discoverer’ of Ismail is the Chris Evans, former academy director for the Wolves, who in the past has discovered players such as Robbie Keane, Joleon Lescott, Lee Naylor and Wayne Hennessey.

Evans, now assistant manager at Bolton, considers that: “It was clear very early on that Zele was a special player with talent way beyond his years.

"We picked him up when he was playing for his school team and the Wolverhampton district side when he was 10. Straight away he was playing in age groups two years above his own. He was smaller than the rest but his technical ability and football brain helped him overcome any physical problems." 

" He could score four, five or six goals in a game so we tended to take him off so as not to draw too much attention to him. “

"The last thing Zele needs now is any upheaval in his life. He had enough trauma in his early years when he had to come to a new country and learn a new language and culture. There is no limit to what he can achieve. He is easily the best player in the country for his age."

“If he continues his progress up to the age of 21 he will become priceless. People are talking about there being a £100m player one day. That’s understandable because the game is now in the hands, not just of millionaires, but billionaires.

“I wouldn’t want to put any pressure on the lad, but in years to come I can see enormous money being spent on Zele”, said Chris Evans.