Leicester City starlet ‘could play at the very top’, says Doncaster Rovers boss

The 18-year-old centre back and England youth international has joined on loan from Premier League side Leicester City for the rest of the season.

Nelson made nine starts during a 12-game loan spell at Rochdale earlier this term.

"There’s a lot of noise around Ben in terms of his potential and where he can get to in his career,” said Schofield, who is on the lookout for more new recruits this month.

“There’s a lot of talk about him one day playing at the very top.

“We watched him for a while, both at under-21 level and during his spell with Rochdale, and we feel he can come in and make a real impact.”

Nelson stands at 6ft 3in and played three 2023 U19 EURO qualifying games for England in September.

Also in the Three Lions’ squad for those fixtures was Manchester United’s Sam Mather, who trained with Rovers on a work experience-style placement in October.

Schofield could hand Nelson his first start for Saturday’s visit of Tranmere Rovers.

He said: “Ben trained on Tuesday and showed some good physical qualities and game understanding in terms of how he wants to play the game, his attributes and how that ties into the way we play, so I think that will be a really good fit.”

Nelson is yet to play for Leicester but has been an unused substitute in the Premier League and Europa League.

Along with Rovers youngster Bobby Faulkner, he is one of the youngest centre-halves to play in the EFL this term.

Faulkner is counting down the days until he can return to action after breaking his jaw during a loan game for Worksop Town last month.

It is thought he will soon head back out on loan, with the 18-year-old not currently in Schofield’s first-team plans.

Nelson arrived at Doncaster alongside right-back James Brown, who signed on loan from Blackburn until May.

On 24-year-old Brown, who previously made 22 appearances on loan at Stockport, Schofield said: “I think he will make an impact really quickly.

"When you recruit in January it’s always important to get players that are ready to go.”