Harvey Higgins, 15, is Blackburn’s wonder kid compared to Jamie Vardy, who holds an astonishing 100m record.

BLACKBURN fans are wondering if Harvey Higgins is the latest in a line of academy products to make it all the way to the Premier League.

There are hopes the 15-year-old will follow in the footsteps of Adam Wharton and David Raya to begin their journeys to stardom at Ewood Park.

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GAME STYLE

Talk to those connected to the kid and there are early comparisons in style of play to Jamie Vardy, Leicester’s irrepressible centre-forward who is still going strong at 37.

Higgins loves to chase a ball over his shoulder and run before unleashing his strength and finishing ability.

He has scored 12 goals in his last six games for Championship Rovers under-16s. They included two against Manchester United, hat-tricks against Derby and Wolves and one in one game against Liverpool.

He has already trained with the under-21s but is still in his GCSE year at school.

Powerfully built and standing 6ft 2in, he doesn’t share Vardy’s ungainly physique, but looks more like a young Erling Haaland.

But even those close to this hot prospect say there’s a lot of work to be done before genuine comparisons can be made.

However, it is making its presence felt at Ewood Park and elsewhere.

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Higgins already has a commercial deal with sportswear giants Puma and is attracting interest from the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea.

CLIMB TO THE TOP

Harvey comes from a landed family. He played for his school, district and county team, but that is now winding down as his hopes of a professional career blossom.

Being so strong, he looks much older than his years. He previously had trials at Manchester United, Liverpool and Man City in the under-7s, but is now a young jewel in Blackburn’s crown.

WHAT DO THE EXPERTS SAY?

There are some at Rovers who prefer to keep quiet about Higgins because he is still very young and working hard.

However, it is difficult to keep statistics like his goals and the fact that he has previously been recorded running the 100m in 11.01 seconds a secret. Lightning for a young footballer.

THE NEXT 12 MONTHS

He is too young to concede such a steady and accelerated progress through the youth ranks if all goes well and Higgins continues to rise to the challenges set before him at Rovers.

There is even hope that at the end of this season he can even make his debut for the first team, if only for a few minutes, to raise his head above the parapet and be seen by football in general.