West Ham junior signs £1m jazz deal

HE might have been the next Frank Lampard. But 16-year-old Tyler Rix has hung up his footballing boots to sign a £1 million recording deal.

His first album, Ascent, is released next month. Tyler, of Finchley, signed for West Ham Academy when he was eight but within a year had taken up the saxophone.

By 10 he was juggling lessons at the junior Guildhall of Music with his training. But after a series of injuries he had to give up soccer. Dickon Stainer, managing director of Universal Classics and Jazz record company, said: "Tyler is a sensational talent. We're glad he chose music. It's better than playing at left back." Tyler said: "It was fate."