Man Utd 'invite' boyhood fan and darts sensation Luke Littler to Old Trafford clash vs Tottenham Hotspur

Manchester United have reportedly invited darts sensation Luke Littler to Old Trafford as a guest of the club for their Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur on January 14.

Littler took the sporting world by storm over the festive period, progressing into the final of the PDC World Darts Championship at just 16-years-old. In his debut campaign at Alexandra Palace, he beat the likes of Raymond van Barneveld and 2018 winner Rob Cross to become the youngest finalist ever.

The Runcorn born teenager's fairytale was cut short in Wednesday evening's gripping final as he was beaten 7-4 by world No.1 Luke Humphries. But that has done little to quell the attention he has been getting from across the nation.

The Daily Mail reports that Littler will be in the stands at Old Trafford for the massive game at home to Tottenham and could even walk out on to the pitch before kick-off. He is said to be 'very excited' for the clash which comes a week before his 17th birthday.

Littler also caught the eye of a few United players past and present, with the teenager receiving messages from a number of Reds during his eye-catching tournament success.

“I’ve got a lot of followers now," he told BBC Radio Manchester recently. "I’ve had a message from Luke Shaw from Manchester United, Rio Ferdinand, I had messages from Gary Neville and Jonny Evans before my game against Barney. It's just crazy, people who I've looked up to and especially my club, Manchester United, wishing me luck.”

The teenager also shared a photo with Donny van de Beek, who remains an employee of United after joining German outfit Eintracht Frankfurt on loan for the rest of the season.

United have an FA Cup third round tie at Wigan Athletic to look forward to this weekend before focus can turn to the Tottenham clash. Erik ten Hag will hope to inject some optimism into the club in the new year after a miserable festive period was capped off with Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest.