In recent years, there has been quite a few cases of Irish players looking beyond England when it comes to forging their path in professional football. That is an encouraging development, with Ireland having been dependent on the English system for far too long.
The likes of Jake O’Brien, Troy Parrott, Festy Ebosele, and Josh Cullen have all made major strides in their game on the back of spells at European clubs.
With that in mind, here are five Irish players that would benefit from spending some time on the continent next season.
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Irish Players That Would Benefit From A Move To The Continent
Aaron Connolly
Aaron Connolly’s season at Hull City began in a promising fashion, but having suffered some injuries at the midpoint in the campaign, he would never quite manage to rediscover his form. He would score eight goals in the Championship, but all of them came before the turn of the year.
Hull offered against offering the Galway man a new deal at the end of the season, meaning he is now a free agent.
Connolly looked to be on a path towards rejuvenating his career, although that now looks less certain. He will need to choose his next club carefully, with a move to the continent an option to consider.
His previous loan spell at Venezia in Italy did not go well, but a period in somewhere like the Netherlands or Belgium could suit him. The striker’s style of play could well be suited to those more technical leagues.
It is certainly worth considering.
Andy Moran
Andy Moran looks like a long-term part of Brighton’s future, although there is every chance that he will be sent on loan against next season. He performed to a decent level during his time at Blackburn in the most recent campaign, although he would find himself largely left out of the starting XI in recent months as they battled relegation.
A highly technical player, he seems perfectly suited to European football. A temporary spell outside of English football would certainly benefit him as he looks to enhance this side of his game.
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He would have no shortage of interested suitors both in England and a bit further afield.
Rocco Vata
Rocco Vata is currently locked in talks about his future with multiple clubs, with the winger available as a free agent this summer.
Celtic seem keen to keep him Glasgow, although the player is hesitant to commit to the club due to the lack of first team opportunities that he has been granted. A number of other teams have been linked with the 19-year old in recent times, including the likes of Watford and a number of Italian clubs.
In our opinion, he should look to follow the example of some other young Irish players by taking the leap and moving to the continent.
Joe Hodge
Having joined QPR on loan in January, it was hoped that Joe Hodge would get a real run of first team games under his belt for the first time in his career.
However, despite being brought into the team early on during that spell, he would quickly fall out of favour and not make a single start from March onwards.
Hodge is a highly technical diminutive midfielder, meaning that he is perhaps better suited than any other Irish player on this list to the style of play that is popular in many European nations.
A loan, or even permanent, move from Wolves needs to happen this summer. Perhaps it is time that he looked beyond English football.
Should he experience some sort of success, he is a player that is likely to be fast-tracked into the Ireland senior squad.
Alan Browne
Alan Browne is currently a free agent, with the player turning down a historic offer from Preston North End in order to test the waters elsewhere this summer.
He opted out of the Ireland squad earlier this month in order to avoid injury as he sought a deal from a new club. However, there have been few updates on his potential next destination.
Browne is sure to draw plenty of Championship interest as a stalwart in that division, although he could also garner some attention from abroad. He came close to moving to Serie A club Salernitana back in January only for the move to fall through at the last minute.
At 29-years old and having spent his entire senior career at Preston, it would be interesting to see him make a move to a European club.
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