JUST HOURS AFTER being named in an Irish senior squad for the very first time, Troy Parrott netted a double for Tottenham’s U23 side in a Premier League 2 meeting with Manchester City.
The English heavyweights go head-to-head tomorrow evening in a highly-anticipated affair at the Etihad, but Friday night’s underage outing offered plenty of intrigue for Irish eyes as Spurs ran out 3-1 winners in London.
In goal for Manchester City was 17-year-old Dublin goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, who moved across on a four-year contract from Shamrock Rovers in a deal worth €400,000 in February.
Parrott opened the scoring for Spurs with a pinpoint finish curled into the top corner just past the half-hour mark, before finding the back of the net again after the interval from the penalty spot.
The 17-year-old striker was forced off with a dead leg in the second half, having offered another impressive display in his second season playing in the Premier League’s U23 competition.
Parrott scored twice in 10 appearances in the Premier League 2 last season, featuring occassionally in-between his regular U18 duties — where he scored 15 goals in 12 games, on top of three goals in five Uefa Youth League matches.
The teenage forward was included in McCarthy’s preliminary 40-man squad for the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifier against Switzerland on 5 September.
However the Ireland boss admitted that Parrott, alongside Stoke City’s Nathan Collins and Southampton’s Michael Obafemi, would likely be cut in order to link up with Stephen Kenny’s U21 squad ahead of a crucial qualifier of their own against Armenia.
Bazunu should also feature in Kenny’s squad for that encounter at Tallaght Stadium. The goalkeeper was on the bench for Ireland’s opening 3-0 win against Luxembourg at the end of March.
However he did not travel to the Toulon Tournament in July after being picked to travel with Pep Guardiola’s senior squad on their pre-season tour to China earlier this summer.
What a finish, @troyparrott9! 👌#PL2 ⚪ #COYS pic.twitter.com/tNXK7KbxJV
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 16, 2019
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