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Hastings teenager Harrison King is on the path to securing a professional futsal playing contract in Italy.
After watching what he achieved for the Australian under-15s during his first international title experience in November 2017, it's little wonder four Italian clubs are circling.
His long-range bomb secured a 4-3 victory over Brazil in the final and since then the 16-year-old has made every post a winner.
Next month he will fly out to Italy for a two-week professional player development program stint which could lead to greater honours.
In doing so he will become the first Australian futsal goalkeeper offered a position in the development program.
"I'll do 10 hours of Italian lessons, 10 hours of FIFA rules and two training sessions each day as well as play," King said.
"In Europe you can't be signed (professionally) until you're 18."
The Lake Cathie product knows there will be intense pressure to secure the contract, but he welcomed the challenge.
"There's always pressure in sport, but that's what you've got to handle when you are at that elite level," he said.
"It's exciting."
King only started playing futsal three years ago so it came as a surprise to him the amount of improvement he has made in his game.
Part of that is due to East Coast Futsal Academy coach Mick Day who said there were four clubs interested in casting their eye over the talented teenager following a partnership with Eleven Sport Italy.
While disappointed to potentially lose one of his better players in coming years, Day knows it is part of the cut-throat nature of developing such high quality.
"It's something that in our development plan we always knew was a double-edged sword," Day said.
"You build these players into these amazing people and then you lose them, but that's part of our program and the philosophy of what we believe in.
"We're getting them to a level where we can introduce them to the right people."
An added bonus of King's success is local players can now see there is a pathway through to the international scene.
"For a young Port Macquarie kid who is 16 to get this opportunity to head to Italy on a professional program that puts him in front of four genuine clubs is a really big deal," Day said.
"It doesn't happen Australia-wide so to have a kid out of Port Macquarie step up on a big international stage … it's a great thing.
"There is a genuine pathway now."
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