Manchester City Agree Record Deal for Teenage Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu

Manchester City have agreed to a pre-contract deal with Shamrock Rovers for teenage goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu. The 16-year-old's current club described it as "the biggest transfer by an Irish club in the professional era."

Rovers confirmed the news via Twitter:

As explained by Goal's Harry Sherlock, Bazunu made his debut for the club earlier this year against Bray Wanderers.

Per the club's official website, Bazunu will stay in Ireland for now and move to the Etihad Stadium in 2019. 

As Sherlock noted, reports from Ireland indicate the Sky Blues are paying Rovers €400,000 (roughly £354,000) for the youngster. Chelsea and Tottenham were also linked with the stopper, who has kept a clean sheet in all four of his senior appearances in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division.

The Independent's Daniel McDonnell is a fan:

Born in 2002, Bazunu has shown no nerves on the senior stage in his young career and already has two starts in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers under his belt. 

He took Irish football by storm earlier this year, with his best performance coming against Cork City:

While he's still young and likely won't make an impact on the senior level for the Sky Blues for some time, Bazunu is a special talent. He still has ample room to grow physically and already displays tremendous maturity, which is a key attribute at the position.

Goal's Ronan Murphy thinks City are getting a fine player and urged the Republic of Ireland national team to add him to the mix in a hurry:

City have prioritised youth in the last few transfer windows with the likes of Leroy Sane, Philippe Sandler and Douglas Luiz. Manager Pep Guardiola hasn't been afraid to give minutes to academy graduates like Phil Foden and Brahim Diaz, and more youngsters are expected to get their chance in the future.