FORMER West Brom legend Cyrille Regis has tipped Ipswich youngster Sam Chittock to follow in his footsteps after an all-star showing at the Tesco Under-13 Cup in Birmingham.

FORMER West Brom legend Cyrille Regis has tipped Ipswich youngster Sam Chittock to follow in his footsteps after an all-star showing at the Tesco Under-13 Cup in Birmingham.

The Copleston High School teenager, 13, was handpicked by Regis as defender of the tournament at the Central England Final despite his team - St John's Youth - failing to progress past the group stage.

St John's, who were representing Suffolk, suffered pool stage heartache after a reverse against Bedford Town Youth and draws against Drezden Colts and Leominster Minors saw them fail to progress.

“Sam looks like a real star of the future,” said Regis. “Even though his team couldn't go all the way and win - he certainly stood out for me.

“Football has changed dramatically in recent years and hopefully this tournament could act as a springboard for Sam going forward.”

And Chittock was left downcast despite scooping the top prize - defender of the tournament.

“I'm obviously a bit gutted because we didn't win the final but we played really well and I enjoyed the whole tournament,” he said.

“I've had a really good day and I'm really happy to win the prize. I played quite well but so did lots of other people so it's good to win.

“My favourite players are Tommy Miller for my team Ipswich and Steven Gerrard at Liverpool.”

The Tesco Cup is a nationwide football tournament for under 13 boys and U14 and U16 girls UK community football clubs.

Over 50,000 players, including close to 8000 girls, across 3000 teams are taking part in the tournament, with three finals between the English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish national champions taking place on May 18 at the City of Manchester stadium.