In alphabetical order:
1. Romeo Akachukwu (Waterford – age: 17)
The Ireland underage international featured 20 times for Waterford last year, scoring three goals. The young forward may not be in Irish football for much longer, however, with Man City, Arsenal and Southampton among the teams reportedly interested in signing him. Of all the players on this list, he has one of the highest ceilings.
2. Kailin Barlow (Sligo Rovers – age: 20)
The midfielder scored three goals in 33 Premier Division appearances for Sligo last season after making a first-team breakthrough in 2022. Interestingly, he is the only player from Sligo town who is part of John Russell’s squad at present.
3. Darragh Burns (Shamrock Rovers – age: 21)
After coming through at St Pat’s, the Meath native had a spell across the water with MK Dons. That move hasn’t quite worked out as planned for the winger, who made 14 appearances in League One last campaign, and so he is back on loan in Ireland this season with Stephen Bradley’s side.
4. Hayden Cann (Drogheda – age: 20)
The defender recently signed on loan from Lincoln City. He has yet to make a debut for his parent club but has played nearly 100 times at senior level across four loan spells in the English lower leagues: Gainsborough Trinity (twice), Lincoln United and Peterborough Sports.
5. Oisin Gallagher (Drogheda – age: 19)
Another loan arrival from Lincoln, the Derry-born midfielder has been capped by Ireland at U19 level. He previously made five appearances with his parent club and 25 in loan spells at Barwell and Peterborough Sports.
6. Jad Hakiki (Shelbourne – age: 19)
Previously on the books at Belvedere and Bray Wanderers, the Ireland underage international made his debut for Shels in 2022 and featured on 21 occasions in the Premier Division last season. Damien Duff has described the attacking midfielder as “top class on and off the pitch”.
7. Kaylem Harnett (Wexford – age: 16)
Harnett recently signed a two-year deal on professional terms with Wexford. He was also named the U15 Ireland Player of the Year last season and similarly impressed for Colin O’Brien’s Irish side in qualifying for the elite phase of the U17 European Championships.
8. Fabrice Hartmann (Sligo Rovers – age: 22)
The RB Leipzig loanee had a difficult time early on at Sligo as a hamstring injury prompted a sooner-than-expected return to his parent club. However, the Bit O’Red subsequently re-signed the winger until the summer of 2024, and he ended last season with four goals from 23 appearances.
9. Al-Amin Kazeem (Galway – age: 21)
The left-back has just joined Galway on a half-season loan, having already made 40 appearances for parent club Colchester. He describes himself as “very attack-minded like to use my athleticism to get up and down, to get assists and help the team.”
10. Johnny Kenny (Shamrock Rovers – age: 20)
The Sligo native scored five goals in 30 appearances for Shamrock Rovers last season and the striker did enough to convince Stephen Bradley that he was worthy of a second loan deal, with Kenny still on the margins at Celtic, who he joined from Sligo Rovers in January 2022 on a five-year deal.
11. Kian Leavy (St Pat’s – age: 21)
The Ireland U21 international made 12 appearances for the Saints last season and signed a multi-year contract with Jon Daly’s side during the week. He initially joined the Dublin club last July after his contract with Reading expired.
12. Kameron Ledwidge (Shelbourne – age: 22)
The former Ireland underage international was an important player for Shels last season, making 25 Premier Division appearances in 2023. In total, the Ballymun native has now appeared 75 times in all competitions for the Dublin club, having spent time on the books at Southampton as a youngster.
13. James McManus (Bohemians – age: 18)
One of the many League of Ireland youngsters with the potential to play at a much higher level. The midfielder scored two goals in 24 appearances for Bohs last season and has reportedly been attracting interest from across the water, having signed a new contract with the club in April of last year.
14. Mason Melia (St Pat’s – age: 16)
A player who seems destined to compete at a higher level. Remarkably given his age, Melia scored two goals from 10 league appearances last season. In the process, he became the Saints’ youngest-ever player and youngest-ever goal-scorer. The Irish underage starlet has reportedly already spent time on trial at Man City and is unlikely to be short of offers from top English clubs once he turns 18.
15. Gavin Molloy (Shelbourne – age: 22)
A grandson of Shelbourne great Theo Dunne, the accomplished midfielder featured 27 times in the Premier Division last season for the Tolka Park outfit. After signing a new contract last April, Damien Duff remarked how he has “grown week in, week out” since his debut.
16. Conan Noonan (Shamrock Rovers – age: 21)
Assisted a goal for Trevor Clarke in Rovers’ President’s Cup win on Friday. Noonan has been highly thought of for a couple of years but has had terrible luck, missing several months in 2022 due to the after-effects of Covid-19. Noonan went on to make six Premier Division appearances in 2023 and it would be a heartening story if he could play a big role this season after the woes of recent times.
17. Ryan O’Kane (Dundalk – age: 20)
The talented winger has had to grow up fast, featuring in all but two of Dundalk’s Premier Division matches last season, while scoring three goals. He was subsequently voted the Supporters’ Young Player of the Year for the second successive season and is expected to play an integral role again this campaign.
18. Adam O’Reilly (Derry City – age: 22)
Already widely considered one of the most talented midfielders in the league, it was considered quite a coup when Derry signed O’Reilly from Preston for an undisclosed fee in January of last year, after he had impressed on loan at St Pat’s. The former Ireland underage international went on to make 28 Premier Division appearances in his debut campaign with Ruaidhrí Higgins’ side, and the Corkonian will be a key man again as the Candystripes look to build on last year’s second-place finish.
19. Marcelo Pitaluga (St Pat’s – age: 21)
It’s fair to say Pitaluga had an uncomfortable start to life at St Pat’s after a blunder in the President’s Cup loss to Shamrock Rovers. However, the Brazilian-born goalkeeper, who joined Liverpool from Fluminense in 2020, remains a player of significant potential and previously made 18 appearances for English eighth-tier side Macclesfield. The youngster will be hoping to have a similar impact to the last Liverpool goalkeeper that the Saints signed on loan, with Vítězslav Jaroš (now on loan at Sturm Graz) enjoying an impressive spell at Richmond Park during the 2021 season.
20. Gideon Tetteh (Shamrock Rovers – age: 18)
Another Rovers player with serious potential, the winger made a handful of appearances for the club during the 2022 season. A Corduff FC graduate, the pacy Ireland underage international was on the bench on Friday and could play a significant role for the Hoops this season.
21. Emre Topcu (Drogheda – age: 18)
Midfielder Topcu grew up in Duleek with a Turkish father and Irish mother. The St Kevin’s Boys and Belvedere youth product has represented Turkey at underage level and made his debut for Drogheda in September 2022, registering a total of nine appearances in the last two seasons in the Premier Division.
22. Jaden Umeh (Cork City – age: 15)
There might not be too many opportunities to watch Umeh as the Ireland underage international is reportedly set to join Benfica when he turns 16 next month. The striker is highly rated in Irish underage circles and became Cork’s youngest-ever player when he made his debut off the bench against Bohemians last season. He has a similarly gifted 19-year-old brother at Crystal Palace — Franco has just been nominated for January’s Premier League 2 Player of the Month award.
23. Charlie Wiggett (Sligo Rovers – age: 21)
The Reading native, who signed for Sligo Rovers just over a week ago, has an impressive CV. He spent a couple of years in Chelsea’s academy before joining Newcastle in the summer of 2021. The subsequent Saudi takeover limited opportunities for young players there and so, the centre-back is hoping to benefit from finally getting the opportunity to play regular senior football at the Showgrounds.
