Yet another Waterford teenager has been signed by a leading English soccer club. Tottenham Hotspur have signed up 15-year-old Kevin O'Brien who plays with the local Villa FC. The talented teenager who departs Waterford for London on Monday, was spotted by a talent scout when he played for Waterford Schoolboys in the Kennedy Cup in Athlone last year. "It's a big step from my local club Villa, but it's an honour for me," said the modest teenager, who has soccer streaking through in his veins -- his Dad, Gerald, still plays for Villa and his grandad, Edward Murphy, from the Cork Road, was also renowned for his footballing skills. In the past, Kevin has been on trials with Celtic and Bolton Wanderers, and has already been in training with many of the big Premiership names at White Hart Lane like Ian Walker, Teddy Sherringham, Sol Cambell, Gary Mabutt and Chris Armstrong. The Knockboy youngster says his gameplan is fairly straightforward: "I play centreback in the centre of defence and I hope to be in the Tottenham first team by the end of the contract. My first ambition is to get into the youth team, then work my way up to the reserves and then into the first team." Living away from home is a daunting prospect but in this case, Kevin will have the support of his London relatives cross channel. Proud parents Gerald and Yvonne O'Brien, proprietors of Ace couriers on the Dunmore road, will be thinking of him as he makes his way towards becoming the next Ryan Giggs (that's if he wants to be). Kevin also has an older sister, Sarah Jane, who is training to be a dental technician, as well as younger brothers Robert and Tony, who are still at school. They're hoping that Kevin will prove to be "a good source of tickets for the Premiership games". Kevin, a past pupil of De la Selle College and St Declan's, is already an under-15 Irish international and with Mick McCarthy's decision to recruit more younger people for the Republic of Ireland squad, it shouldn't be too long before we see this Waterford player on the Irish senior team. That's something he's targeting himself towards. Kevin says: "I'd like to be in contention for a place in the next European Championships." Expectations for Kevin's future are high. And rightly so.