Birmingham City’s young talent, Lorenzo Greer, may boast more YouTube followers than Kylian Mbappe, but he was unable to overcome Manchester United and Kai Rooney in their recent encounter. The 16-year-old, known as Tekkerz Kid on YouTube, has amassed a following of 1.7 million and over 480 million views. Greer’s YouTube channel, set up by his parents Nathan and Tara a decade ago, was initially intended to help offset the cost of football boots through reviews and potential freebies.

However, it has since documented his journey from grassroots football to Birmingham City’s academy, with aspirations of turning professional. Having already rubbed shoulders with football stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Jude Bellingham and Mbappe himself, Greer is keen to carve out his own path in the sport. Despite starting for Birmingham’s Under-18s against Manchester United, the home team dominated the match, securing a 6-0 victory in the Under-18 Premier League Cup and finishing Group G with maximum points.

United’s prodigy JJ Gabriel featured in the match, alongside Wayne Rooney’s son Kai, who netted the sixth goal of the afternoon for Darren Fletcher’s team. It was a disappointing day for Greer, making his first start of the season for the Blues’ U18s in defensive midfield, playing two years above his age group after signing a scholarship earlier this summer.

Despite this, the young star remains undeterred and continues to enjoy a meteoric rise. Greer is an Under Armour athlete and had the opportunity to meet PSG defender Achraf Hakimi during his trip to Paris. Greer appears to be the next prodigy to emerge from the Birmingham City academy production line, following in the footsteps of Jude and Jobe Bellingham, two high-profile stars currently plying their trade at top European clubs.

Although he hasn’t yet made a first-team appearance for Birmingham City, Greer already enjoys celebrity status in the city due to his social media following and aspires to emulate Jude’s success. Speaking to SunSport, Greer said: “It’s crazy and doesn’t seem real. We never thought it would get this big.

“My parents were in a chip shop and had this cool idea, ‘Lorenzo likes football, why don’t we put some videos out showing how good he is?’ We got about 50 views at first. Then more and more people started watching and we’ve just carried it on.”

Through his social media platform, Greer has already met several big names from the world of football, but his ultimate goal is to follow in Jude Bellingham’s footsteps.

“Jude is an inspiration as someone from Birmingham and living proof it’s possible to make it,” he said. “I’ve met him a few times – at St George’s Park, in the city or even at the training ground when he was here.

“Jude is down to earth, humble and speaks to you like a normal person. It was mad to see him playing for Birmingham at 16, starting games and scoring goals. It was sick.

“Players like Bellingham, Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen, who hit such a high level in their teens, are almost like one in a billion. You cannot compare yourself to people like that because they don’t come along at that age very often.

“Jude told me, ‘Keep playing your game and stay humble.’ So I’ve got to do that, keep working hard and let my football do the talking. My end goal is to be a pro footballer.”

At just 16, the young talent has launched his own academy and harbours aspirations of earning his coaching badges in the future.