Mason Melia has been given a chance to impress the manager of the relegation threatened Premier League side.
SSE Airtricity League Premier Division, Richmond Park, Dublin 22/9/2025
St. Patrick’s Athletic vs Cork City
St. Patrick’s Athletic’s Mason Melia celebrates scoring his side’s second goal
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo
Roberto De Zerbi could turn to Mason Melia to solve his front-line crisis.
The Tottenham boss has suffered a double-blow to his attacking options, with Xavi Simons suffering an ACL tear and Dominic Solanke a hamstring injury in last weekend’s 1-0 win against Wolves.
According to football.london, De Zerbi has promoted the Ireland Under-21 international to first-team training this week as he prepares for a crucial game against Aston Villa on Sunday.
Spurs are deep in relegation trouble and are two points adrift of 17th placed West Ham with just four games remaining.
Melia has this week had a chance to impress the former Brighton and Marseille boss, and potentially earn a place in the squad for the Villa clash.
The Wicklow native made the move from St Patrick’s Athletic to Tottenham in January for a League of Ireland record fee of €1.9million.
But he had to bide his time before seeing any action with his new club, as he arrived with a back injury and later suffered from a chest infection.
When he did make his bow for the Under-21 side, he scored within three minutes of his arrival against West Ham.
Melia now has three more starts under his belt and in early April he got his first taste of training with the first-team.
De Zerbi need not worry about the 18-year-old’s experience at senior level, as Melia has been playing first-team football since 2023, when he was still just 15 years of age.
He played a total of 98 games for St Patrick’s Athletic, including 12 in Europe, and scored 25 times for the Saints.