'They're the future of Udinese' — Irish teen Abankwah hailed after first start against Juventus

Longford native James Abankwah, captain of Ireland’s Under-19 team, had only made one brief substitute appearance against Bologna before being thrown in for a start against the European giants in Sunday’s final series of games.

Mon, 05 Jun, 2023 - 11:33

John Fallon

Andrea Sottil has suggested that he’ll be building his Udinese team around gems like James Abankwah after the Irish teen defender made a solid impression during his first Serie A start on Sunday against Juventus.

Udinese splashed out €600,000 to recruit the then 18-year-old from St Patrick’s Athletic last year and the first-team coach indicated the investment strategy was designed with next season in mind.

They also snapped up fellow Irishman Festy Ebosele from Derby County but his first-team run was recently halted by a hamstring tear.

Longford native Abankwah, captain of Ireland’s Under-19 team, had only made one brief substitute appearance against Bologna before being thrown in for a start against the European giants in Sunday’s final series of games.

Deployed on the right side of a three-man defensive unit, he manfully coped with the danger posed by Juve’s Federico Chiesa at the Dacia Arena.

It was only after Abankwah was forced off on the hour with a dead leg that the Italian Euro winner from 2021 curled home the winner that won the match and secured Europa League qualification for the visitors.

“With the selection problems we had, we handed full debuts to two lads born in 2004 - James Abankwah and Axel Guessand,” Sottil said after a defeat that left Udinese finishing 12th.

“They are two highly promising lads the club has invested in. They deserved this chance and I must say they did well.

“Regardless of the result, it's wonderful to see these 18-year-old kids out there holding their own against Juve's stars. They the future of Udinese.

“I came in here with my ideas and the team has made constant improvement in terms of our football, our identity and our approach to games. There are lots of solid foundations and we'll put a strong squad together. We've planted a seed. We'll build on these 46 points and most of these lads will be staying with us.”

Abankwah, who was born in Waterford, completed his Leaving Cert before moving to Italy last summer. The fashion of Italian clubs taking an interest in Irish youngsters had ramped up before Brexit raised the age limit to join UK clubs from 16 to 18.

Inter Milan snapped up Kevin Zefi from Shamrock Rovers while their neighbours AC Milan swooped for Cork City teen Cathal Heffernan.

Abankwah is set to be receive his first Under-21 call-up on Tuesday when Jim Crawford names his squad for three upcoming friendlies against Gabon (June 13), Ukraine (June 16) and Kuwait (June 19) in Austria.