NOT TOO MANY Irish footballers have had as impressive or memorable a year as Finn Azaz.
At club level alone, the achievements are tough to match.
The 25-year-old finished last season with 12 goals in 45 appearances for Middlesbrough, and also registered 11 assists — a tally bettered by only four players in the Championship.
Although, his satisfaction at an outstanding individual contribution was offset by the disappointment of Michael Carrick’s team finishing four points adrift of the playoff places.
Nevertheless, Azaz’s form helped him secure a big-money move shortly before the summer transfer deadline, joining Southampton for a reported fee of €14 million plus add-ons.
It was a difficult start to life at the club. The Saints won only two of their opening 13 Championship matches.
Will Still, the manager who signed Azaz, lost his job, having overseen a total of just 16 matches since being appointed in the summer.
Since then, however, the situation has taken a turn for the better.
Southampton proceeded to win six of their seven matches.
Tonda Eckert did such an impressive job as interim coach that he was made the club’s permanent manager on 5 December.
And Azaz has been key to this improvement in fortunes. Having failed to find the net in his first 10 matches for the Saints, the Irish star proceeded to score six in his next five.
So what has changed to make the team look like promotion contenders again, after such a dreadful start?
“I don’t think we were far away from it,” Azaz tells The 42. “I think just a few tweaks and a little bit more detail, but all I can say is that this manager has been amazing, and I’ve loved working under him. Tonda’s detail is the most I’ve had as a player, and I’ve been under a fair few managers now.
“As to why it went wrong. I couldn’t tell you, probably numerous reasons, but I was always confident looking at the squad and the facilities here and the staff and everything that we would get it right.”
Over the last couple of seasons, Azaz has established himself as one of the most talented attacking midfielders in the Championship. The player believes that both he and the team can step up to Premier League level.
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With an eye for intricate passes and superb technique, Azaz can often make football look easy, but his journey has involved no shortage of graft.
He lived in the City of Westminster in central London briefly as a baby before his family, which has both Irish and Israeli heritage, moved to Birmingham.
Azaz joined West Brom’s academy at the age of nine, but his passion for sport did not detract from other areas of life — at 16, he attracted local headlines for earning nine A*s and one A in his GCSE exams despite playing football six days a week.
Finn Azaz pictured during his time at Cheltenham Town. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
While playing for Plymouth, he also did volunteer work at St Luke’s Hospice, a specialist end-of-life and palliative care service.
“[It's about] just coming out of my comfort zone, it’s always good,” he says. “I just said, I’ve got this day off, so just sort me out with some charity work. And then I just went from there, and it was… Friendships with different kinds of people that I never would [meet otherwise]. I’m still in contact with the main nurse and stuff. So, it was really good for that side.”
And is there anything Azaz is doing now to take his mind off football in his downtime?
“Not really. It’s pretty much my whole life right now. With the amount of games and stuff, recovery and everything, it’s pretty much 24/7. When I get to see my family, and obviously living with my partner, she helps take my mind off it, [compared to when I was] living on my own.
“In terms of the work at the hospice and stuff like that, it was really fulfilling for me, and I would love to do more of that. I just need to find the spare moments and the mental juice to get it in. I love doing it, and it gives me energy. And it was really fun, meeting new, different types of people.”
Azaz had to work hard at broadening his footballing education, too. His success can be partly attributed to a series of loan spells, the first of which came at 19, when he made 37 appearances for Cheltenham Town in League Two. Some teenagers — particularly creative players — can struggle in such a physical environment, yet Azaz thrived.
The impression he made there helped secure a permanent move from West Brom to Aston Villa, with the latter immediately loaning the youngster out to another League Two club — Newport County, where he managed to score seven goals in 42 appearances.
Azaz joined Aston Villa in 2021. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
While not being the most physically imposing player, Azaz has had no issue defying doubters and meeting whatever challenge is in front of him. There were two further loan spells at Plymouth Argyle, scoring eight goals in 34 appearances as they gained promotion from League One, and he added another seven goals in 26 appearances the following season, despite the team struggling in the Championship.
That form prompted Middlesbrough to pay a reported fee of around €2 million for his services in January 2024, before making a significant profit on the player the following year.
Of his early experiences in football, Azaz says: “Going on loan to the lower leagues has helped me gain that know-how and that physicality and what’s necessary, and learning different styles and having to adapt to play in every single type of game against every single type of team, and learning from that.
“And then, having that skill of being able to adapt, not just playing one way, how you want to play, but being able to change to help the team win and still be effective.”
Newport County's Finn Azaz (left) and Port Vale's Harry Charsley battle for the ball. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Adaptability has been a key component of his success with Ireland as well.
As the Boys in Green found themselves 2-1 down in a must-win game against Hungary, and Heimir Hallgrímsson was throwing extra strikers on the pitch in a desperate search for goals, another manager might have been inclined to withdraw Azaz to accommodate the forwards. Instead, the Irish coach made the bold call to substitute both his defensive midfielders — Josh Cullen and Jayson Molumby — while moving Azaz into a deeper, less familiar position.
This gamble paid off — it was Azaz who played the defence-splitting pass for Troy Parrott’s equaliser, paving the way for Ireland’s dramatic comeback to earn a place in the World Cup playoffs.
“I hadn’t really played there before for Ireland, but it was obviously a really tough game. I just said to myself: ‘Keep going.’
“The manager gave me a lot of responsibility and confidence, not bringing me off to try and change it, but to keep me on the pitch and drop me deeper. And I just felt like I didn’t even think too much about it. It was just like, we need to get a goal. It’s not done.
“Yeah, really proud of being part of that team that did that, and my contribution, and just getting the win.”
Along with securing the big move to Southampton, Azaz calls the Hungary win the highlight of his year in football.
As with his time at the Saints, though, adapting to international football for Azaz was not a seamless process. He reckons it took about “five or six” games (he now has 12 caps) before he fully settled into the team.
He adds: “Obviously, at the same time, it wasn’t settled, and the way we were playing was still in transition and stuff, and the combination of the two has meant that, looking back, I’d probably agree [it took a while].”
Finn Azaz reacts during the Ireland-Portugal game. Morgan Treacy / INPHO
Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
In that regard, the two-legged Nations League promotion-relegation playoff against Bulgaria last March feels like a watershed moment. In Hallgrímsson’s first six games as manager, Azaz had been a peripheral figure. He wasn’t even included in the squad for the opening Nations League fixtures against England and Greece. He then started the next match away to Finland, but was an unused sub for the trip to Athens three days later, while he had to settle for substitute appearances in the November fixtures against Finland and England.
But he has got a new lease of life since the turn of the year, scoring his first international goal in Plovdiv and laying on a crucial assist for an Evan Ferguson goal in the return leg.
Those two matches appeared to have convinced Hallgrímsson of Azaz’s importance to the team. The midfielder proceeded to start five of their six World Cup qualifiers — the sole exception being the ultra-defensive 1-0 defeat to Portugal in Lisbon.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with him, and under him and the responsibility he gives me, it’s really good,” Azaz says of the Icelandic coach. “I strive to have that.”
80mins: 🇭🇺 2-2 🇮🇪 Azaz floats it to Parrott in the box and he chips it in for his second goal of the evening. Ten minutes to find the winner!
Barring injury, Azaz will surely be a prominent figure again in March, when the team face Czechia in the playoffs in Prague before potentially hosting either Denmark or North Macedonia at the Aviva Stadium for a place at the World Cup.
“I think it’s a good draw, and it’s going to be really hard, but we know that we’re capable of doing it, and just the fact that we’re going to be there, and we’ve got the opportunities, is really, really exciting,” he says.
“[Qualifying for the World Cup] would just be everything to be able to do that, it’s the pinnacle, and to do it like that would mean the world to me, going there with Ireland.”
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One of Ireland's breakout stars of 2025 on a year to remember
NOT TOO MANY Irish footballers have had as impressive or memorable a year as Finn Azaz.
At club level alone, the achievements are tough to match.
The 25-year-old finished last season with 12 goals in 45 appearances for Middlesbrough, and also registered 11 assists — a tally bettered by only four players in the Championship.
Although, his satisfaction at an outstanding individual contribution was offset by the disappointment of Michael Carrick’s team finishing four points adrift of the playoff places.
Nevertheless, Azaz’s form helped him secure a big-money move shortly before the summer transfer deadline, joining Southampton for a reported fee of €14 million plus add-ons.
It was a difficult start to life at the club. The Saints won only two of their opening 13 Championship matches.
Will Still, the manager who signed Azaz, lost his job, having overseen a total of just 16 matches since being appointed in the summer.
Since then, however, the situation has taken a turn for the better.
Southampton proceeded to win six of their seven matches.
Tonda Eckert did such an impressive job as interim coach that he was made the club’s permanent manager on 5 December.
And Azaz has been key to this improvement in fortunes. Having failed to find the net in his first 10 matches for the Saints, the Irish star proceeded to score six in his next five.
So what has changed to make the team look like promotion contenders again, after such a dreadful start?
“I don’t think we were far away from it,” Azaz tells The 42. “I think just a few tweaks and a little bit more detail, but all I can say is that this manager has been amazing, and I’ve loved working under him. Tonda’s detail is the most I’ve had as a player, and I’ve been under a fair few managers now.
“As to why it went wrong. I couldn’t tell you, probably numerous reasons, but I was always confident looking at the squad and the facilities here and the staff and everything that we would get it right.”
Over the last couple of seasons, Azaz has established himself as one of the most talented attacking midfielders in the Championship. The player believes that both he and the team can step up to Premier League level.
With an eye for intricate passes and superb technique, Azaz can often make football look easy, but his journey has involved no shortage of graft.
He lived in the City of Westminster in central London briefly as a baby before his family, which has both Irish and Israeli heritage, moved to Birmingham.
Azaz joined West Brom’s academy at the age of nine, but his passion for sport did not detract from other areas of life — at 16, he attracted local headlines for earning nine A*s and one A in his GCSE exams despite playing football six days a week.
While playing for Plymouth, he also did volunteer work at St Luke’s Hospice, a specialist end-of-life and palliative care service.
“[It's about] just coming out of my comfort zone, it’s always good,” he says. “I just said, I’ve got this day off, so just sort me out with some charity work. And then I just went from there, and it was… Friendships with different kinds of people that I never would [meet otherwise]. I’m still in contact with the main nurse and stuff. So, it was really good for that side.”
And is there anything Azaz is doing now to take his mind off football in his downtime?
“Not really. It’s pretty much my whole life right now. With the amount of games and stuff, recovery and everything, it’s pretty much 24/7. When I get to see my family, and obviously living with my partner, she helps take my mind off it, [compared to when I was] living on my own.
“In terms of the work at the hospice and stuff like that, it was really fulfilling for me, and I would love to do more of that. I just need to find the spare moments and the mental juice to get it in. I love doing it, and it gives me energy. And it was really fun, meeting new, different types of people.”
Azaz had to work hard at broadening his footballing education, too. His success can be partly attributed to a series of loan spells, the first of which came at 19, when he made 37 appearances for Cheltenham Town in League Two. Some teenagers — particularly creative players — can struggle in such a physical environment, yet Azaz thrived.
The impression he made there helped secure a permanent move from West Brom to Aston Villa, with the latter immediately loaning the youngster out to another League Two club — Newport County, where he managed to score seven goals in 42 appearances.
While not being the most physically imposing player, Azaz has had no issue defying doubters and meeting whatever challenge is in front of him. There were two further loan spells at Plymouth Argyle, scoring eight goals in 34 appearances as they gained promotion from League One, and he added another seven goals in 26 appearances the following season, despite the team struggling in the Championship.
That form prompted Middlesbrough to pay a reported fee of around €2 million for his services in January 2024, before making a significant profit on the player the following year.
Of his early experiences in football, Azaz says: “Going on loan to the lower leagues has helped me gain that know-how and that physicality and what’s necessary, and learning different styles and having to adapt to play in every single type of game against every single type of team, and learning from that.
“And then, having that skill of being able to adapt, not just playing one way, how you want to play, but being able to change to help the team win and still be effective.”
Adaptability has been a key component of his success with Ireland as well.
As the Boys in Green found themselves 2-1 down in a must-win game against Hungary, and Heimir Hallgrímsson was throwing extra strikers on the pitch in a desperate search for goals, another manager might have been inclined to withdraw Azaz to accommodate the forwards. Instead, the Irish coach made the bold call to substitute both his defensive midfielders — Josh Cullen and Jayson Molumby — while moving Azaz into a deeper, less familiar position.
This gamble paid off — it was Azaz who played the defence-splitting pass for Troy Parrott’s equaliser, paving the way for Ireland’s dramatic comeback to earn a place in the World Cup playoffs.
“I hadn’t really played there before for Ireland, but it was obviously a really tough game. I just said to myself: ‘Keep going.’
“The manager gave me a lot of responsibility and confidence, not bringing me off to try and change it, but to keep me on the pitch and drop me deeper. And I just felt like I didn’t even think too much about it. It was just like, we need to get a goal. It’s not done.
“Yeah, really proud of being part of that team that did that, and my contribution, and just getting the win.”
Along with securing the big move to Southampton, Azaz calls the Hungary win the highlight of his year in football.
As with his time at the Saints, though, adapting to international football for Azaz was not a seamless process. He reckons it took about “five or six” games (he now has 12 caps) before he fully settled into the team.
He adds: “Obviously, at the same time, it wasn’t settled, and the way we were playing was still in transition and stuff, and the combination of the two has meant that, looking back, I’d probably agree [it took a while].”
In that regard, the two-legged Nations League promotion-relegation playoff against Bulgaria last March feels like a watershed moment. In Hallgrímsson’s first six games as manager, Azaz had been a peripheral figure. He wasn’t even included in the squad for the opening Nations League fixtures against England and Greece. He then started the next match away to Finland, but was an unused sub for the trip to Athens three days later, while he had to settle for substitute appearances in the November fixtures against Finland and England.
But he has got a new lease of life since the turn of the year, scoring his first international goal in Plovdiv and laying on a crucial assist for an Evan Ferguson goal in the return leg.
Those two matches appeared to have convinced Hallgrímsson of Azaz’s importance to the team. The midfielder proceeded to start five of their six World Cup qualifiers — the sole exception being the ultra-defensive 1-0 defeat to Portugal in Lisbon.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with him, and under him and the responsibility he gives me, it’s really good,” Azaz says of the Icelandic coach. “I strive to have that.”
Barring injury, Azaz will surely be a prominent figure again in March, when the team face Czechia in the playoffs in Prague before potentially hosting either Denmark or North Macedonia at the Aviva Stadium for a place at the World Cup.
“I think it’s a good draw, and it’s going to be really hard, but we know that we’re capable of doing it, and just the fact that we’re going to be there, and we’ve got the opportunities, is really, really exciting,” he says.
“[Qualifying for the World Cup] would just be everything to be able to do that, it’s the pinnacle, and to do it like that would mean the world to me, going there with Ireland.”
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