TROY PARROTT COULD have signed for Wolfsburg last summer.
The 42 has learned that the German club made a bid of €18 million to AZ Alkmaar and wanted the Dubliner to lead the line as they sought to get back into the European places.
Parrott weighted things up, those close to him did some due diligence on the state of play behind the scenes, and they decided against the move.
A return to the Premier League could also have been on the cards for the former Tottenham Hotspur forward. Newly-promoted Leeds United and Burnley both put in the work behind the scenes to examine a possible transfer.
Again, Parrott was happy to pass up on jumping straight back to England when there was an acceptance that his development would be better served in the Netherlands, as well as a determination to continue the kind of progress that has seen him him score 13 goals in 14 games (with two assists) for his club prior to Thursday night’s two-goal show in a coming-of-age display against Portugal.
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It’s not just the style of play that suits Parrott down to the ground in the Netherlands, either. The pace of life has left a lasting impression. He lives in Amsterdam with his long-term girlfriend and is settling into as much of a rhythm off the pitch as he is on it.
It’s why his next move – and the summer of 2026 is the plan in place – will be to one of the major clubs in either Germany, France, Spain, Italy or Portugal. The Premier League is already viewed as a destination more likely – and suitable – around 2028, so long as his rate of progress and maturity continues on its current trajectory.
He will be 24 in February and is a leader in the AZ dressing room, his performances and personality making him someone teammates now look up to. It felt the same way for Ireland on Thursday.
Those well versed in the market currently place his value in the region of around €25 to €30 million – with a realisation that you need to be breaking through the €60m barrier to even be considered as a starter for those among the elite.
Greece international Vangelis Pavlidis was Parrott’s predecessor leading the line for AZ before he joined Benfica in a deal worth up to €20m in the summer of ’24. A similar route to one of Portugal’s big clubs should not be discounted.
Ryan Manning (left) and Jayson Molumby push Parrott forward to take the acclaim of fans. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Red Bull Leipzig, currently second in the Bundesliga but who missed out on European football this term after finishing seventh in the last campaign, are also understood to be one of the other clubs now on the radar monitoring Parrott’s progress.
He is described as a sponge by those who work with him, as well as a realist who is now determined that his football does his talking for him rather than the hype which surrounded him from a young age.
He knew all about the expectation placed on him from an early age, when at 14 he was being chased by almost every club in England before eventually leaving Dublin for Spurs when he was just 15.
This was pre-Brexit, of course, and the landscape for the next Troy Parrott is completely different. Mason Melia, for example, stayed with St Patrick’s Athletic in the League of Ireland Premier Division until his 18th birthday and will arrive in north London in January.
Parrott’s aim, should he eventually be in a position to be able to decide on whether he moves back to the Premier League, is to have reached a point in his career where clubs at the level of Spurs – and those on the rungs above – view him as their main man.
On Thursday, though, he was a Mammy’s boy once the dust had settled on his two-goal display and he made his way to the families’ lounge. It was there that Jennifer was waiting to give her son one of those tight, strong hugs that those closest to him say have always been his trademark.
He is also carrying more muscle mass from his torso up than ever before, which has just added to the sense of him growing into a man who can lead club and country from the front.
You could almost hear Jennifer’s smile through the radio when she was interviewed by Oliver Callan on RTÉ on Friday morning.
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“He’s brilliant he is. He doesn’t let anything take over, he doesn’t let fame get in the way of where he’s from,” she said. “We’re just trying to take everything in, it’s overwhelming, but it’s under control, we’re just not used to this level of attention.”
So long as Parrott continues this form they will have to, because the boy from Buckingham Street is growing up to become Irish royalty.
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The Troy Parrott Masterplan: His next move already in pipeline and why he will stay in Europe
TROY PARROTT COULD have signed for Wolfsburg last summer.
The 42 has learned that the German club made a bid of €18 million to AZ Alkmaar and wanted the Dubliner to lead the line as they sought to get back into the European places.
Parrott weighted things up, those close to him did some due diligence on the state of play behind the scenes, and they decided against the move.
A return to the Premier League could also have been on the cards for the former Tottenham Hotspur forward. Newly-promoted Leeds United and Burnley both put in the work behind the scenes to examine a possible transfer.
Again, Parrott was happy to pass up on jumping straight back to England when there was an acceptance that his development would be better served in the Netherlands, as well as a determination to continue the kind of progress that has seen him him score 13 goals in 14 games (with two assists) for his club prior to Thursday night’s two-goal show in a coming-of-age display against Portugal.
It’s not just the style of play that suits Parrott down to the ground in the Netherlands, either. The pace of life has left a lasting impression. He lives in Amsterdam with his long-term girlfriend and is settling into as much of a rhythm off the pitch as he is on it.
It’s why his next move – and the summer of 2026 is the plan in place – will be to one of the major clubs in either Germany, France, Spain, Italy or Portugal. The Premier League is already viewed as a destination more likely – and suitable – around 2028, so long as his rate of progress and maturity continues on its current trajectory.
He will be 24 in February and is a leader in the AZ dressing room, his performances and personality making him someone teammates now look up to. It felt the same way for Ireland on Thursday.
Those well versed in the market currently place his value in the region of around €25 to €30 million – with a realisation that you need to be breaking through the €60m barrier to even be considered as a starter for those among the elite.
Greece international Vangelis Pavlidis was Parrott’s predecessor leading the line for AZ before he joined Benfica in a deal worth up to €20m in the summer of ’24. A similar route to one of Portugal’s big clubs should not be discounted.
Red Bull Leipzig, currently second in the Bundesliga but who missed out on European football this term after finishing seventh in the last campaign, are also understood to be one of the other clubs now on the radar monitoring Parrott’s progress.
He is described as a sponge by those who work with him, as well as a realist who is now determined that his football does his talking for him rather than the hype which surrounded him from a young age.
He knew all about the expectation placed on him from an early age, when at 14 he was being chased by almost every club in England before eventually leaving Dublin for Spurs when he was just 15.
This was pre-Brexit, of course, and the landscape for the next Troy Parrott is completely different. Mason Melia, for example, stayed with St Patrick’s Athletic in the League of Ireland Premier Division until his 18th birthday and will arrive in north London in January.
Parrott’s aim, should he eventually be in a position to be able to decide on whether he moves back to the Premier League, is to have reached a point in his career where clubs at the level of Spurs – and those on the rungs above – view him as their main man.
On Thursday, though, he was a Mammy’s boy once the dust had settled on his two-goal display and he made his way to the families’ lounge. It was there that Jennifer was waiting to give her son one of those tight, strong hugs that those closest to him say have always been his trademark.
He is also carrying more muscle mass from his torso up than ever before, which has just added to the sense of him growing into a man who can lead club and country from the front.
You could almost hear Jennifer’s smile through the radio when she was interviewed by Oliver Callan on RTÉ on Friday morning.
“He’s brilliant he is. He doesn’t let anything take over, he doesn’t let fame get in the way of where he’s from,” she said. “We’re just trying to take everything in, it’s overwhelming, but it’s under control, we’re just not used to this level of attention.”
So long as Parrott continues this form they will have to, because the boy from Buckingham Street is growing up to become Irish royalty.
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inside story Republc of Ireland Soccer Troy Parrott