Liverpool's new wonderkid snatched from under the nose of Man City

A technically sound and agile midfielder, who possesses great passing ability, Dan Smith has been signed by Liverpool from Crewe Alexandra for an initial £300,000, with future add-ons. But what makes him so special? We thought we'd use our Talent Spotter to do some digging to find out more about the sought-after midfielder, whom Man City believed was theirs a month ago, only for the deal to fall through.

THE NITTY GRITTY
Name: Dan Smith
Position: Midfield
Club: Liverpool
Date of birth: 10/09/95

FIVE FACTS
1) Smith earned plaudits when playing for a Crewe academy side that beat Chelsea's much-vaunted youngsters 2-0, away from home in August 2011. During the game he showed his class with neat control and passing, while he also scored (see video evidence below).

2) Despite the large transfer fee, Smith, a member of the famous Crewe Alex academy since the age of 11, had yet to feature for the League Two club's first team during his time at The Alexandra Stadium.

3) The £300,000 starlet is still in secondary school where he is about to finish his final year.

4) Former Liverpool players Rob Jones and Danny Murphy began their careers at the Alex, while Smith is the latest in a line of club youngsters that has caught the eye of bigger sides. In March we looked into striker Nick Powell, an academy graduate and now first team player, who is reportedly interesting Man United and Arsenal.

5) An England U-17 international, Smith has made four appearances for the the Three Lions, the first coming against the Faroe Islands in the Nordic Tournament in Iceland in the 2011 summer. On his debut, which England won 4-0, his attempted through ball was deflected by Faroe youngster Teitur Jespersen Olsen into his own net for the opening goal (see video evidence below).

THEY SAY
“The club has received an undisclosed fee and future add-ons but we would have much preferred to have seen him play for our first team.”
Crewe Alexandra's statement following Smith's transfer to Liverpool

VIDEO EVIDENCE