Carew: A young talent.

POMPEY boss Paul Hart knew John Carew would be bigger than me and you - when the Villa targetman was just a teenage whippersnapper.

Hart was the academy supremo at Leeds when he tried to sign the Norwegian battering ram as a 16-year-old back in 1995.

But Carew subsequently wound up at Villa following spells at Valerenga, Rosenborg, Valencia, Roma, Besiktas and Lyon.

And, now the 30-yearold powerhouse has scored 32 times in 82 appearances for Villa, Hart insists his loss his Martin O'Neill's gain.

"I tried to sign John Carew when he was 16, he is a very useful player," said Hart.

"I was not actually all that close to getting him, it was very difficult to get near him at that time.

"I was at Leeds and we certainly knew about him, he was very highly rated so we attempted to get him, but he signed for Valerenga in Norway.

"You always knew he'd become a quality player, though, you could see it at that early age.

"Carew's very clever but he's also very big and because of his size his pace is sometimes under appreciated.''