A FUTURE football star who was told he was too short to sign for an academy has been given a chance by Blackburn Rovers.

Harrison Wood, eight, was snapped up by the Ewood Park outfit after just six trial sessions.

The youngster, of Denton, south Manchester, left his local team Heaton Mersey Vipers, where he scored 38 goals in a league and cup-winning season, to sign for the Championship club.

Harrison, who is a big Manchester City fan, said: “I was really excited when they signed me.

“I don’t know much about Blackburn Rovers but I really hope to get into the first team one day.”

Harrison’s dad Steve said it came as a shock after several clubs had said that, at 4ft 6ins, he was an inch and a half too short.

He said: “Other academies had told us he was too short for his age. Over the past few months we had been to these academies, we found out that some of them look at the mum and dad and take the average height to see how tall the children will become.”

Mr Wood said the summer move had come about after Harrison played in a match against Rovers.

He said: “He played in a match against Rovers with A-Star Academy from Heaton Mersey.

“I asked if he could go to Rovers again and he went about six times. After that they said they wanted to sign him, although I did ask if they could wait until he finished the season with Heaton Mersey Vipers as they were on the verge of winning the league.”

Mr Wood said Harrison’s pace made him attractive to Rovers.

He said: “He is like a whippet.

“They had a race at the end of his training sessions and he won by three or four yards.

“He has played as a striker for the past two seasons but recently he has played on the wing because of how quick he is.”

A spokesman for Blackburn Rovers said: “We can confirm that Harrison will be one of 14 youngsters who will be training with the under-nines next season.”