Tractor Boys in Green and Fergie time: Irish plotlines in Premier League
MERSEY BEAT: New Everton signing Jake O'Brien with club stalwart, Seamus Coleman.
Everybody’s tip to replicate Luton by going straight back down to the Championship, Ipswich will have an Irish influence through its backbone.
So impressive were the strides of Kieran McKenna in securing consecutive promotions that Chelsea tried and failed to entice him into Todd Boehly’s empire. He remained loyal to a club that had Irish-eligible Jack Taylor and Marcus Harness prominent. Both made 39 appearances and Taylor has already won U21 caps before earning a senior call-up. Harness, two years his elder at 28, is awaiting his first full invitation after being a guest during the last regime.
Another 28-year-old, Sammie Szmodics, arrived on Friday in a deal estimated to reach £11m (€12.9m). That ceiling will only be reached if he delivers the goals to silence the sceptics of their survival.
Having had a strong second half to the 2022/23 season, it was the opposite last term when injury and form curtailed his campaign. For this one, he begins still awaiting full fitness but refreshed by a change of manager. Fabian Hürzeler has been sparse with his comments around his star striker, perhaps wary of fuelling further hype about a player still only 19, but he’s got some convincing to do for his reputation as the club’s primary frontman to be established.
Ferguson’s barren run of 23 games without a goal – including the missed penalty for Ireland against Belgium in March – was unnecessarily latched onto for criticism. If someone in the ilk of Alan Shearer considers the Bettystown man as the full package, Ireland can be assured he’s the main man for years to come.
Nathan Collins made his third big-money move in three years to the Bees last season and will likely be joined by compatriot Dara O’Shea by the end of this month’s window. Doubtless Keith Andrews recommended this particular centre-back to Thomas Frank, after being headhunted in July by the Dane from Sheffield United as his assistant.
Andrews coached both defenders, initially with Ireland’s U21s before they shared the senior stage, and that trio will be integral to how the London club fare in this, their third year in the Premier League. There was another Irishman there before them all, club legend Kevin O’Connor migrating from his 500 playing appearances to coaching. From managing the B team, he switched in recent years to the first-team. Two Irishmen on the sideline will mirror the on-pitch presence, presuming O’Shea’s transfer is completed.
Two Irish defenders at diverging stages of their career unite to solidify a rearguard that is again anticipated to be busy. Séamus Coleman, who turns 36 in October, is most likely in his last season at the club and should help them bid farewell to Goodison Park as they move to their new Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium next summer.
His dedication and professionalism ensures age hasn’t compromised his reliability, to the point that he’ll remain first-choice for club and country. Bookending the Irish duo is 23-year-old Jake O’Brien, the Cork centre-back recently recruited for £20m (€23.5m) on account of his stellar sole season with Lyon. Coleman on the flank and O’Brien in the centre will become a constant sight during a season that Everton hope, rather than expect, isn’t consumed by another relegation dogfight.
Ireland’s generation of golden goalkeepers has manifested in the three trailblazers ending up in the Premier League. Gavin Bazunu is back there following a testing opening season there that culminated in relegation.
He retained his No 1 spot during last season’s promotion run but a serious Achilles injury keeps him out for the first few months of the season.
Caoimhín Kelleher, despite indicating he was finally quitting Liverpool, looks to be sticking around under Arne Slot and will remain understudy to Alisson. A Brazilian too is blocking the path of Mark Travers to the spot between the posts at Bournemouth. Neto is in possession and once the Cherries sent new recruit Alex Paulsen straight out on loan Travers was the bona fide next-man-in.
We’ll see all three, just not enough of them.
This time last year Tom Cannon was leaving the Premier League behind and now he’s returned benefitting from circumstance. That his club Leicester City are embroiled in financial fair play restrictions and the strikers Jamie Vardy and Patson Daka are injured leaves Cannon as the only fit striker. Time will tell whether new manager Steve Cooper rates the striker who made his debut for Ireland in June but there’s every chance of being involved in Monday’s opener against Tottenham Hotspur. Irish eyes will also focus on how frequently Kasey McAteer is used, or if his imminent new contract is a precursor to a loan move. Gametime will determine his chances of a first Ireland call-up.
Two Umeh brothers, Franco and Jaden, are both abroad embarking on professional careers and the elder of the pair is making a splash at Crystal Palace.
Franco was known at Cork City for his blistering pace as a winger but Oliver Glasner deployed the Leesider as wing-back during pre-season. Fellow Irishman Paddy McCarthy, one of the Austrian’s assistants, was instrumental in Umeh’s transfer and will push for his compatriot’s promotion. That, for a player still 19, would represent earlier than anticipated progress but he carries the physical attributes manager deems so crucial to the demands of top-flight competition. Someone will emerge from the margins and this teen could be the latest Irish Premier League member.
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