IF self-confidence and common sense are anything to go by, Wanderers have snapped up a prized talent in the shape of Jason Talbot.

The fact that he is only 16 suggests he has a long, long way to go but the Irlam and Cadishead Community High School pupil - signed up for next summer's intake of Academy "scholars" - handled his first press conference like a seasoned pro.

Refreshingly honest, he admitted having tried his luck at Everton and Manchester United before Reebok scouts spotted him playing for Salford Schoolboys and, despite the excitement at being on the threshold of a dream come true, is determined to have the insurance of an education, should he not make the grade.

"For a split second when Bolton offered me a contract I felt I'd made it," he recalls, "but then I thought 'Wait a minute!' ... I've wanted to be a footballer since I was four or five but I know how many don't make it.

"So I'm concentrating on my schoolwork as well as on football. If I don't make it as a footballer, I definitely want to be a physio."

Wanderers have high hopes of the young left back, having played him regularly in the Under 17s when he was just 15.

Academy director, Chris Sulley reckons: "His level of performance has improved no end from when we first got him in.

"His attributes are pace, he has a good left foot and has an attacking mentality. He likes to get forward, which I like in a full-back, but he is well equipped to defend.

"He has a good attitude to the game and has the basics of being a player. Over the next two or three years we will see how he develops. That will be down to hard work and a little bit of luck."