Player Lionel Messi tipped for stardom in 2016 finally set to get his big move as Premier League club ready to activate 'release clause'

A player that Lionel Messi tipped for big things all the way back in 2016 is set to earn a move to the Premier League, according to a new report.

The Barcelona and Argentina legend is no stranger to picking out top talent, as evidenced in 2020 when he named 15 youngsters who were 'on the rise'.

That was part of a partnership with trading card company Topps, with Messi choosing the likes of Eder Militao, Frenkie de Jong and Trent Alexander-Arnold as players he believed could dominate the game for years to come.

That list did carry with it some not-so-successful predictions, but most of his selections have lived up to expectation.

Four years earlier, meanwhile, Messi compiled another list of talents that he believed could achieve stardom in world football.

Among those picks was Ajax striker Kasper Dolberg, who went on to score 27 goals in all competitions in his debut campaign for the Dutch giants in 2016/17.

Kasper Dolberg: Backed By Messi.
🔥✅🔥#Messi16 #FirstNeverFollows pic.twitter.com/lIFEUf9xLR

— Team Messi (@TeamMessi) October 13, 2016

A move to Nice followed in 2019, but despite scoring 11 Ligue 1 goals in just 23 matches in his debut campaign, his scoring form dried up for a number of seasons.

It took a move to Belgian Pro League side Anderlecht for Dolberg to rediscover that form, and he has smashed in 25 goals in all competitions this term.

According to Voetbal Krant, the 27-year-old's form has attracted the interest of newly-promoted Leeds United.

While the striker does not have an official release clause, Anderlecht are adamant that the Whites must pay no less than £12.6 million to sign him.

Joel Piroe scored 19 Championship goals for Daniel Farke's side this season, but second-choice striker Mateo Joseph only netted on three occasions.

Patrick Bamford, meanwhile, failed to score in any of his 17 appearances and, at 31, might be moved on from Elland Road this summer as the club prepare for life back in the top division of English football.