AFTER THE FALL, the modest rise?
Irish involvement in the Premier League has been slowly sliding for years, and hit record lows across each of the last two seasons. The issue has been less the number of Irish players appearing in the league, but the centrality of their involvement: 21 Irish players made at least one appearance in last season’s league – which was the seventh-highest of any nationality – but the 9,326 minutes they accumulated placed Ireland 18th on the playing-time table of nations.
But this season should tell a sunnier tale.
Evan Ferguson will be the headline act. His return of six goals and two assists in 19 league games last season was an impressive return, particularly in a Roberto de Zerbi team that places a greater goalscoring burden on wide players. He will have some renewed competition this season – Danny Welbeck is still there, and Joao Pedro has been signed from Watford – but, given Brighton will be in the Europa League, there will also be more opportunity. If he can stay injury free, Ferguson should target a double-figures goal tally for the season ahead.
That added opportunity at Brighton might afford Andrew Moran another look-in. The attacking midfielder signed a contract extension in April and has been linked with a Championship move all summer but he hasn’t left yet. Moran is slight but technically excellent, leading to comparisons at home with Wes Hoolahan.
There will be a renewed Cork presence in the league this year, with John Egan returning with Sheffield United for what, at this remove, seems a daunting campaign. The Blades look significantly weaker than they were last season, losing loanees James McAtee and Tommy Doyle and then talisman Iliman Ndiaye.
Chiedozie Ogbene, meanwhile, has a personal trajectory comparable with that of his new club, Luton Town. His combination of pace and tactical intelligence will stand Luton in good stead now they are treading shark-infested waters. Ogbene will be the main Irish player to watch at Luton, with Louie Watson expected to go out on loan and ex-Irish U21 international Glen Rea not given a squad number and on his way out.
Burnley have happily added to their Irish influence since being promoted, with Dara O’Shea staking a claim for a first-choice berth in the Premier League having excelled during pre-season. Josh Cullen will miss the opening night through injury but is Vincent Kompany’s distributed brain in midfield, so should continue as first-choice in spite of this week’s signing of Sander Berge from Sheffield United.
Michael Obafemi was once Ireland’s youngest Premier League goalscorer, until Ferguson snatched the record last season. His January loan move from Swansea has been made permanent but he will miss the start of the season with a hamstring injury sustained on Ireland duty. He is some way short of fitness, and had his right leg in a brace on his latest Twitch stream this week.
Dara Costelloe was surprisingly involved in the early weeks of last season under Kompany, but ended the season on loan at Bradford so is highly unlikely to get any Premier League experience this season. Irish-eligible defender CJ Egan-Reily is a highly-rated product of the Man City academy and impressed on loan at Hibernian last season, but the Premier League may have come too soon for him.
Elsewhere, Nathan Collins finds himself in the familiar situation of new surrounds, leaving Wolves after only one season to join Brentford. He must hope against further repetition. He fell out of favour at Wolves when Julen Lopetegui switched from a back three to a back four, and Thomas Frank is flirting with the same change as Brentford play the first half of the season without Ivan Toney. If so, Collins may slip behind Ethan Pinnock and Ben Mee in the pecking order.
Matt Doherty, meanwhile, is back at Wolves, having been underworked during his loan stint at Atletico Madrid. He admitted all was not what it should be at the club in a pitchside interview after Wolves’ friendly draw with Celtic in Dublin a fortnight ago, and these were prescient words: at around the same time as Doherty was talking, Lopetegui decided to leave.
Wolves’ failure to recruit a midfielder – specifically Alex Scott from Bristol City – to replace Ruben Neves is believed to have been Lopetegui’s greatest gripe with his bosses, but that difficulty may lead to some opportunity for Irish U21 midfielder Joe Hodge, who has been regularly involved during pre-season.
Seamus Coleman, meanwhile, is now the longest-serving player at a single club still active in the league. He is recuperating from the serious knee injury he sustained against Leicester last season, and isn’t expected to be fit until October. Once he is fit, he will likely storm back into the team, as he remains largely irreplaceable. Those running Everton have failed Coleman in recent years, leaving him as one of the sole voices of professionalism and reason in an eddying mess of dysfunction. With transfer business again underwhelming, another grim battle against relegation likely awaits.
Across the city, Caoimhín Kelleher remains at Liverpool, which will come as a surprise to his international manager, who tipped him for an exit this summer. Jurgen Klopp is much less willing to allow his back-up leave the club, and so another season behind Alisson Becker awaits, although Liverpool’s diminished status as denizens of the Europa League may bring with it some more opportunity in Europe.
He is the last of Ireland’s trio of goalkeepers in the league, with Gavin Bazunu relegated with Southampton and Mark Travers leaving Bournemouth on loan for Stoke. Darren Randolph has long-since fallen out of favour with Stephen Kenny, and will provide Bournemouth’s back-up for Brazilian goalkeeper Neto, who has now been given the captaincy.
Interestingly, Bournemouth have allowed Jefferson Lerma join Crystal Palace without replacing him as they hope Irish U21 international Gavin Kilkenny can make a breakthrough, so his progress will be worth tracking.
Another of the Irish U21s, defender Tayo Adaramola, has spent the last couple of seasons on the fringes of the Crystal Palace first-team without forcing his way through. Last summer’s loan move to Coventry didn’t work out: he wasn’t playing regularly and was quickly recalled by Patrick Vieira to provide some first-team depth. Vieira promised him a debut, but was regrettably sacked before he could hand it out. Roy Hodgson may be less amenable to blooding the full-back this year, and with Lewis Hall signed on loan from Chelsea, opportunities have become even more limited.
Troy Parrott remains at Spurs but is highly likely to leave on loan before the transfer window ends, regardless of what happens with Harry Kane’s future. The Championship is his most probable landing spot.
Conor Coventry is still at West Ham too, but David Moyes is currently restocking his midfield with Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse so the former Irish U21 captain may have to move away for first-team opportunities.
Jeff Hendrick has been banished to train away from the first-team at Newcastle, so a move away looks inevitable. He dropped into the Championship with Reading last season, whose tangled finances led them to relegation. And, remarkably, Harry Arter is still under contract at Nottingham Forest. He spent last season languishing in a netherworld having been left out of the registered squad, and the same fate awaits him this season, too.
The Irish in the Premier League 23/24
Bournemouth
- Darren Randolph
- Gavin Kilkenny
Brentford
- Nathan Collins
Brighton
- Evan Ferguson
- Andrew Moran
Burnley
- Josh Cullen
- Dara O’Shea
- Michael Obafemi
- Dara Costelloe
- CJ Egan-Riley
Crystal Palace
- Tayo Adaramola
Everton
- Seamus Coleman
Liverpool
- Caoimhín Kelleher
Luton Town
- Chiedozie Ogbene
- Louie Watson
Newcastle
- Jeff Hendrick
Nottingham Forest
- Harry Arter
Sheffield United
- John Egan
Tottenham
- Troy Parrott
West Ham
- Conor Coventry
Wolves
- Matt Doherty
- Joe Hodge
