exclusive Coleraine set to bank £500k for the transfer of 17-year-old Patrick Kelly to West Ham United

Patrick Kelly has joined West Ham from Coleraine

Steven Beacom Twitter

July 01 2022 01:57 PM

Coleraine could be in line for a whopping £500,000 windfall through the transfer of teenager Patrick Kelly to West Ham United.

Kelly's move to the Premier League outfit was confirmed today and while the Bannsiders will receive an initial fee of around £70,000 for the talented young midfielder the Belfast Telegraph can reveal that will rise to just over half a million pounds with add-ons should the 17-year-old make first team appearances for the Hammers and go on to play for Northern Ireland.

It is also understood that if Kelly moves on to another club in the future Coleraine will land a percentage of any fee for the player.

It is a fantastic deal for the Showgrounds side and illustrates why it proved to be a masterstroke by Bannsiders boss Oran Kearney to give him his debut at just 16 last season and make him a regular in the first team.

Kelly has signed a three year professional deal with the London club and while his ultimate ambition is to make David Moyes' first team, initially his aim is to impress in their under-age sides in the coming campaign.

On the deal, Coleraine chairman Colin McKendry said: "I can't speak highly enough about how West Ham conducted their business with us and I wish Patrick all the very best. I saw him before he left and this is a life changing move for the young man.

"Patrick has so much potential and hopefully he can realise that potential. He is a well grounded person from a very good background and I have no doubt he will go on to make his family and the area of Coleraine proud.

"Oran has managed him very well to this stage. Last year Oran came to me and said, 'this boy is special' and he thought Patrick was good enough to go in our first team at 16. It takes a bit of backbone to do that from a manager especially in the Irish League and it has worked out for Patrick and I hope he goes on to have a great career."