This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk‘ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Despite being just 16-years-old, Emre Tezgel is one of the most highly rated players at Stoke City right now. 

The youngster has worked his way up through Stoke's academy and last season he made two appearances in the FA Cup for the Potters' first team.

The striker scored 12 goals in nine appearances for Stoke's U18 side last season and looks as though he could be in Stoke's first team soon enough.

This summer he was subject to interest from a range of Premier League clubs, however, Stoke announced that he will be staying put with Michael O'Neill's side and a professional contract will begin once the player turns 17 later this year.

With that in mind, we asked Stoke City's fan pundit Ben Rowley for his thoughts on the new contract: "So Emre's been at the club since he was nine and is now a 16-year-old and the last 12 to 18 months or so, he has blossomed exceptionally.

"He's played for the Stoke U23s regularly, he's played in the FA Cup for Stoke, he's played for the England U17s I believe and for someone of his age to have the confidence, the technique that he does, is that of a senior player.

"I think that he has the potential to go to the absolute, very top. Obviously things can happen with younger players where trajectory can stifle a little bit. However, it seems like Stoke is a great place to develop youth at the moment and clearly he sees that too, fending off Premier League opposition to stay with us and there's a clear path to the first team. I think that that will happen or he will be in the first team sooner than you think.

"He's an absolute superstar and it's possibly the best deal of the summer."

The Verdict: 

This is a great bit of business from Stoke even if it's not in total preparation for the upcoming season.

It's a signal that Stoke are shifting their mindset to look at the long-term with a mind of progression further forward which is positive.

The 16-year-old has shown plenty of potential so far and as Ben says, there is a good chance that he could be in the first team soon enough.

Considering there was interest in the player from Premier League sides, the Potters have done really well to keep hold of the youngster and get him on a professional contract.