Ian Chapman knew Greg Luer had what it took to be a professional when he told him off.

The 19-year-old forward yesterday sealed a remarkable switch from Ryman south Burgess Hill to Premier League Hull City.

He will link up with the Tigers for an undisclosed fee on January 1 and will be allowed to play for the Hillians in the meantime.

Luer broke into the Burgess Hill first team two years ago, was placed on contract last November, had a trial with Millwall in the summer and a run-out for Oxford United’s development side last week.

Oxford offered him terms but Luer, who has netted ten goals this season for the promotion-chasing Hillians, could not resist the opportunity to sign for a Premier League side.

Burgess Hill boss Ian Chapman is not surprised by the youngster’s rapid progess.

Former Albion favourite Chapman knew he had a player on his hands the moment he took over as manager.

He told The Argus: “When I came to the club Greg was playing for the youth team and we recognised he was a talent straightaway.

“It was a case of getting other bits into his game, working a little bit harder. It is very unusual for a player to step from our standard to where he is going but it is down to hard work.

“We just thought he was a bit different to everyone else. Ashley Carr and Tony Tregear had him in their youth team and they deserve a lot of credit.

“I felt he was coasting a little bit but all of a sudden in the last year-and-a-half when he has come into men’s football, with a few lads at the club who have been around and played a bit, it has just clicked with him.

“He is the sort of lad who, if we had a day off, would be in the park playing football with his mates. He just wants to play football.

“Last season he had a couple of telling-offs from myself because I didn’t think he was working hard enough. But what I liked about him was he was big enough to accept it, he didn’t sulk. The next game he would come out full of energy and want to prove me wrong, not in a bad way.

“That is a big thing to have in football, to accept the good and the bad because it is not always going to be good. When it isn’t going for you and people are having a pop at you, you need to be mentally strong. For me he did that.”

Chapman has no worries about Luer’s focus with the Hillians in the next five weeks before he links up with Hull’s under-21 squad.

He added: “I know he will be grounded, the senior lads won’t allow him to be too chirpy. The biggest accolade I can say to Greg is the players at our club think the world of him and that is for what he has done on the football pitch. They look after him. They like him as a lad and they have come to realise what a talent he is.”