It has to be said that there are not many Irish players in the public eye and could be called potential superstars. We are more known for having journeymen and lots of heart rather than an abundance of skill and talent. The couple of promising young players that we did have lately Rice and Grealish both declared for England after playing underage for us. Not that I would blame them. Born in England and with the option to play for the team who reached the semi final of the world cup or stay with Ireland who rarely qualify for major tournaments and struggle to beat Georgia most days. It's a grim life.
That's why it is great to see a young Irish player doing well for a large team and has the potential to go along way in the game. At just 17 he started for Spurs first team against Juventus on Sunday. Just think about what you were doing at 17 and tell me that it's not an impressive feat. I know my Saturday night at that age involved vodka, a nightclub and shifting some girl along the way. Not sure I would swap but his thing is harder to accomplish.
He played the first 45 minutes and put on an impressive showing for such a young an inexperienced player even helping in spurs first goal. This follows a great year in the youth set up which had been talked about in all the right circles. He had to pass on playing with the Irish under 19's for this opportunity but it's one that few players will ever see in their career. To play against Ronaldo and Buffon in front of over 50k fans is not something that you can pass up on.
Next we will probably see him getting called up to the Irish senior team to start blending him into that group for the near future. It's great to see some potential coming up through the ranks as it has been in short supply over the past few years.