Andy Myers’s side have two draws and a defeat from their opening set of matches, with Vale instrumental to the two points on the board.

It was the teenager who scored twice away at Tottenham on the opening weekend in a 2-2 draw, one from the spot having won the penalty himself and the other a neat finish following a direct ball over the top.

A week later, Vale ran out at Stamford Bridge for the first time in his fledgling career and was on the scoresheet in a 1-1 stalemate with Manchester United. Again, the Sussex-born forward converted from 12 yards, though the Blues were pegged back with the concession of a late equaliser.

The youngster’s performances in the month did not go unnoticed by Thomas Tuchel either as he recently trained with the men’s first team squad for the first time.

Vale is one of eight young players to have been nominated for the first monthly player award of 2021/22. He is joined on the shortlist by Aaron Ramsey (Aston Villa), Omari Giraud-Hutchinson (Arsenal), Evan Ferguson (Brighton), James McAtee (Man City), Dylan Stephenson (Newcastle), Jonathan Tomkinson (Norwich) and Dilan Markanday (Tottenham).

Nominated players were chosen by the Premier League Football Development panel after PL2 club coaches picked the best performances by opposing players in each league fixture in August. For the first time, performances in the League Cup have also been taken into account. The panel will also decide the winner, which will be announced in due course.

In other Academy news, goalkeeper Sami Tlemcani has recently signed his first professional contract at the club. The France Under-16 international joined last October from Paris FC and made four appearances for Ed Brand’s youth team last term.