West Ham are among the clubs monitoring Alfie Bendle as AFC Wimbledon face a fight to hang onto their teenage starlet.
Midfielder Bendle, 17, was handed his debut last season in the final game of the campaign and has made five more appearances so far this term, impressing in EFL Trophy starts against Aston Villa and Crawley.
However, Bendle’s League Two appearances have been late cameos off the bench and his lack of league minutes has put some of his admirers on alert.
As well as West Ham, Swansea and Watford are also keen on former Brighton youngster Bendle who was backed to be ‘a big player’ for AFC Wimbledon by the man who gave him his debut last season, then manager Mark Bowen.