Ireland remains fertile hunting ground for English big guns
Not since Stephen Ireland broke into the Manchester City team back 2005 has a graduate of the Irish system nailed down a regular spot amongst one of the Premier League’s real heavyweight clubs — and it’s doubtful he would have broken into today’s City line-up.
Yet, despite the dearth of green shoots at England’s top table at senior level, the opposite pattern continues in the teenage market.
The past four months alone has seen the two Manchester clubs, Arsenal and Liverpool secure deals to import some of this country’s brightest prospects. City clinched a double-deal to sign Cherry Orchard’s 14-year-olds Aaron O’Driscoll and Tyreke Wilson while their neighbours United captured Dundalk teen James Dunne.
Armstrong Okoflex has enlisted in Liam Brady’s Arsenal academy but Liverpool only last week made a major statement on their faith in the Irish scene by going the extra mile to edge out United for 13-year-old Glen McAuley. The striker is their third Irish signing in as many years. That represents merely a fraction of the cross-channel flow which is now a multi-millionaire euro business.
Scouts, agents, parents and the kids themselves all play their roles and, over the next three days, a special Irish Examiner report will deliver the views from each angle on a cutthroat industry.
We speak to past and current players who’ve experienced the system to varying degrees of success, get the opinions from agents and scouts on why the Irish market remains so popular and talk to the parents that have watched their child’s dreams take flight or nosedive in English academies.
Such a trend might be avoided were the alternatives available in Ireland. We look at the limited options on offer to aspiring footballers domestically and assess what’s required for a genuine pathway to be created to compete against the status quo.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
