By Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

Jamaica's Luton Shelton (right) battling for the ball with Chile's Jorge Vargas during their international friendly at the National Stadium in early June. Chile won 1-0. - Ian Allen

Ace striker Luton Shelton is expected to bolster Jamaica's young Reggae Boyz's bid for a historic spot in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, when he joins the team just ahead of the second round of qualifiers.

According to reports coming out of the Jamaica Football Federation Shelton, who plies his trade for English Championship division team Sheffield United, will join the team on October 8, for the second leg of the qualifiers, which will run from October 9-13 in Haiti.

The national players have been drawn in Group H where they will face Group F winners The Bahamas and Haiti, the Group D champions.

The Young Boyz had eased their way through the first leg of the qualifiers, which took place in Aruba earlier this month. Placed in Group B, the Boyz were unbeaten, starting out with a 6-1 win over Antigua and Bermuda, then edged Barbados 1-0 before pounding hosts Aruba 5-0.

Two teams from the group will secure a spot in the final round.

With the second round expected to be a much tougher outing, Shelton will be a welcome addition to the squad for coach Wendell Downswell.

The striker, who has been in blistering form in recent times, devastated second division team Morecambe yesterday, hitting the net twice before setting up two goals in a 5-0 win. The performance, which lifted Sheffield into the fourth round of the Carling Cup, impressed Blades boss Bryan Robson.

"Morecambe couldn't deal with Luton Shelton's pace," Robson said on the team's official website. "It was pleasing for me to see his understanding of link-up play really working and he took into the game things we had been working on in training.

"As long as he continues to work, he could become a great player. We saw the skills he has got," he added.