LONDON — David Beckham’s teenage son just might be the next person in his family to play in the Premier League.
Thirteen-year-old Brooklyn Beckham, the oldest of Beckham’s four children, is having a tryout with London club Chelsea and played in an under-14 game Tuesday at the team’s training facility, people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the teenager’s activities.
The Daily Mail newspaper’s website first reported the news Wednesday after pictures were posted on Twitter of David Beckham watching Brooklyn play Tuesday.
Professional teams throughout England sign talented young players to their youth academies, with the hope of building teams around homegrown stars rather than costly imports.
Brooklyn Beckham is trying to forge his own soccer career just as his father decides what could be the final step in his own.
The 37-year-old Beckham, a former England captain and Manchester United star, is mulling offers from clubs around the world after leaving the Los Angeles Galaxy at the end of a six-year stint in Major League Soccer.
When Beckham played in the U.S., Brooklyn was on the Galaxy’s youth team, and he still appears on their website as a member of their under-14 squad.
But the family left Los Angeles last month and returned to England, with Brooklyn and younger brothers Romeo and Cruz expected to attend school in London. David and Victoria Beckham also have a daughter, 2-year-old Harper Seven. While Brooklyn Beckham is carving out a soccer career, 10-year-old Romeo is making a name for himself in the fashion industry like his mother. He appears in Burberry’s ads for its spring/summer 2013 collection.
