Manchester United have invited Luke Littler to attend their game against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford as a guest of the club following his fairytale run to the World Darts Championship final.

The 16-year-old boyhood United fan will be in the stands to watch his heroes take on Tottenham on January 14 – a week before his 17th birthday.

Littler could be introduced to the 74,000 fans inside the stadium before kick-off, as has been the case with other special guests, although that has not yet been officially decided and may depend on the outcome of the final. The club will also be wary of protecting the teenager given his young age.

United have also helped organise good luck messages from current players Jonny Evans and Luke Shaw as he prepares to take on the world No 1 for a shot at the £500,000 first prize.

Luke Littler has received an invitation to watch his side Manchester United at Old Trafford 

The boyhood fan could be welcomed onto the pitch before kick-off although this is yet to be confirmed

The 16-year-old previously lauded his club’s Boxing Day victory over Aston Villa on Facebook

Littler, who has already pocketed £200,000 by making the final, revealed following his 6-2 thrashing of Rob Cross in Tuesday’s semi-final that Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand had also been in touch to offer messages of support.

‘I’ve got a lot of followers now. I’ve had a message off Luke Shaw, from Manchester United, from Rio Ferdinand, and I had a message off Gary Neville and Jonny Evans before my game against Barney,’ Littler told the BBC.

Littler has also captured the attention and hearts of other footballers, with Donny van de Beek, who left United on loan this week to join Eintracht Frankfurt, among those to ask the 16-year-old for a photo.

Littler hailed United midfielder Donny van de Beek as a ‘legend’ after beating Matt Campbell

Another current player, Jonny Evans, sent Littler a message of support before he faced off with Raymond van Barneveld

Arsenal pair Aaron Ramsdale and Declan Rice also got in on the action as they asked for a picture with the darts sensation before their 2-0 defeat by West Ham last week, while Tottenham playmaker and darts aficionado James Maddison invited Littler to watch Spurs’ clash with Bournemouth at the weekend.

Pictures have also surfaced on social media of Littler wearing the 2017-18 United home kit while clutching a set of darts.

And Littler, from Warrington in Cheshire, has not forgotten about his beloved United despite his exploits at Ally Pally.

After United had fought back from 2-0 down to beat high-flying Aston Villa on Boxing Day, Littler posted on Facebook: ‘Never say die under ETH (Erik ten Hag). ‘YANITED YANITED YANITED.’