Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony (left). Photo David Lowndes.placeholder image
Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony (left). Photo David Lowndes.
Peterborough United are set to lose a star 15 year-old Academy player to a Premier League club.
Chairman Darragh MacAnthony made the revelation on the latest edition of his ‘Hard Truth’ podcast. Posh are powerless to stop any Academy prospect leaving the Weston Homes Stadium as they can’t sign a professional contract until they are 17.
MacAnthony also revealed probable Premier League champions Arsenal had been watching Posh teenager Pat Sykut until he committed to Posh
MacAnthony said: “We have an unbelievable 15 year-old prospect and three Premier League clubs want to take him away from us. We will try and get a million for him, but they will probably offer between £400k-£500k. There is a matrix which covers what compensation we can get for players at certain ages.
"Some clubs offer more than that and offer add-ons as well, but we can’t stop any player leaving until they sign a pro deal at 17. It’s one reason why we didn’t go overboard publicly re Pat Sykut. We didn’t want to draw attention to him, although Arsenal were keeping an eye on him. We might have got £1 million for him, but he’s probably worth five times that to us now because he has signed a long contract.
"And the benefit for him is he gets game-time under a manager who trusts his young players. That is priceless for him and us. The Academy is the best investment we have and we need to keep leaning on them, but players under 17 can be taken away on the cheap. We recently lost a 13 year-old winger to Newcastle United for £350k
"The 15 year-old in demand has been playing and scoring for our under 18s.”
Posh under 15 player Billie Lawrence has been playing for the under 18s recently. Leon Mukumbira moved from Posh to Newcastle in 2024 when a Posh Under 15 player.
Posh lost 14 year-old goalkeeper Sam Proctor to Aston Villa for just £100k in 2021, although now Posh have a category 2 Academy the compensation fees for young players are higher. Proctor has now signed professional terms at Villa.
MacAnthony remains focused on reducing the club’s debt. The last Posh accounts showed a profit of just over £2.9 million for the year ending June 2025, mainly thanks to player sales.
He wants more information on the introduction of a Independent Football Regulator before commenting on the likely impact on Posh. The regulator’s stated purpose is to ‘to improve financial resilience, prevent financial catastrophes, and ensure clubs are accountable to fans.’
"I believe we were the only League One club to show a profit for the year,” MacAnthony stated. “In my 19 years at the club we have always paid our bills on time and I take great pride in that. I’m not sure I want someone coming in and telling me how I should run the club, but I will dig more deeply into his role. I’m not saying I’m anti-regulator.
"We are busily reducing debt. It’s too high, but I know I could sell two players for £20 million in the summer. I know this because of the offers I’ve been getting, but I won’t sell them because I want us to have a chance next season.
“To give you an idea of how tough times are financially though our rates that were once £40k are no up to £98k, our electric bill was £270k and is now £400k and the extra cost of National Insurance is £200k.”
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