Everton have swooped to sign Sunderland striker Francis Okoronkwo after agreeing a deal worth up to £1million for the highly rated 16-year-old.
The teenager caught the eye for the Under-18s last season and several top-flight clubs were chasing the 6ft 3ins frontman.
Sunderland were determined to keep Okoronkwo but Everton have persuaded the player to move to Goodison Park, where he will enter their academy once the transfer is ratified by the Premier League.
The Black Cats, now under the ownership of Swiss trust-fund billionaire Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, included the schoolboy in the group that travelled to Wembley for their EFL Trophy Final victory in March, a move that was intended to incentivise him in committing his future to the club.
But Okoronkwo will now become the latest in a long line of talented youngsters to quit Sunderland for the Premier League, including Joe Hugill, the 17-year-old who is winning rave reviews at Manchester United.
Defender Logan Pye, 17 also left the Black Cats to join United last summer.