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Steven Crawford

Glentoran strike a blow with capture of highly-rated Linfield youngster

Glentoran have pulled off a major coup as they announced the signing of highly-rated teenager Leon Boyd from Big Two rivals Linfield.

The Northern Ireland underage striker has impressed with the Blues with a number of clubs in England monitoring his progress.

But the Glens have persuaded the 17-year-old to swap Windsor Park for The Oval much to the delight of boss Rodney McAree.

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"Leon's someone who has come to our attention over this past while and we wanted to make sure we could make something happen," he told Glentoran's Youtube channel.

"He's obviously young, he has a bright future in front of him and we'll try to get working with him and progress him as quickly as we can. We think he is a talent and has a bright future."

Boyd is the latest young star to make the switch to The Oval and McAree feels the opportunity to work full-time is a big selling point for the Glens.

"We have tried to identify the best young talent and try to get them to come to Glentoran so that we're building for the future and Leon certainly fits that bill," he said.

"There's probably only three clubs who can offer that full-time element.

"Training with really good players every day is going to improve them.

"Everyone wants to go to England or Scotland when they're 16, but unfortunately not everyone gets that opportunity.

"So this is a great opportunity for local kids at this age.

"If we feel they're good enough we can give them that opportunity here."

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