There is a good reason why Troy Parrott, Adam Idah and Evan Ferguson are the only strikers named in Heimir Hallgrímsson’s Republic of Ireland squad for the upcoming double header of international friendlies. The Boys In Green play Senegal at the Aviva Stadium on Friday before catching a plane for a clash with Luxembourg next Tuesday.
To date, all three players have five international goals to their credit. And while Parrott (23) and Idah (24) are coming off the back of impressive seasons, much is expected of 20-year-old Ferguson despite a disappointing campaign in the Premier League.
What separates Ireland’s established front men from the rest is their proven ability in front of goal.
Idah just completed the best season of his career, hitting 20 for Celtic despite starting the campaign behind Kyogo Furuhashi. Three of his goals came in the Champions League and he also scored Ireland’s winning goal against Bulgaria in March.
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Parrott’s career is also on an upward trajectory, with the Dubliner finishing on 20 goals for AZ Alkmaar, 14 of which came in the Dutch Eredivisie to leave him as the division’s third highest scorer.
Parrott also grabbed four goals in European competition, including a snap shot that gave Robbie Keane a nervous first night in charge of Hungarian side Ferencvaros in the Uefa Europa League.
“You learn a lot more about yourself [at a European club],” said Keane in January, drawing on his experiences with Inter Milan as a young player. “When I went to Italy at 19, 20 years of age, even in that short space of time I learned a lot in terms of how to play.
“Look at Troy now, he is still young, still learning his trade. As a young player you have to go on these journeys. Take a few loans, take a few hits and then go to a club where you feel valued and are the main guy.”
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Ferguson has taken “a few hits” since notching his first Premier League goal for Brighton, against Arsenal, in December, 2022.
There is no way to dress up the loan move to West Ham in January after he struggled for minutes at Brighton under Fabian Hürzeler. The presence of Graham Potter, his first manager at Brighton, offered promise of a career revival in London. However, he was unceremoniously hooked at half-time in his only Premier League start for the Hammers against Wolves.
Ideally, Ferguson returns to Brighton for pre-season without the knee or ankle issues that silenced talk of him becoming a £100 million teenager. Apparently, Manchester United were at the front of the queue.
Despite his stalled progress in England, Ferguson continued to deliver for Ireland, scoring the goal that beat Finland 1-0 in Dublin last November before a fine individual effort against Bulgaria.
“Evan is fit,” said Hallgrímsson. “He has a chance to prove a point. It is good to see, for us.
“We can see his quality in our sessions, especially his finishing. It is second to none. We all know that once he starts playing on a regular basis, he will deliver more for us.”
With an eye towards bolstering Ireland’s attack in the upcoming World Cup qualification campaign, Hallgrímsson and his assistant John O’Shea recently met Premier League forward Liam Delap.
The Ireland manager’s summation of the discussion with a 22-year-old who has played for England at every age grade?
“Well, he didn’t say f**k off.”
Delap has a busy summer ahead as his £30 million (€36 million) move from Ipswich Town to Chelsea is set to rule him out of the England under-21s’ defence of their European Championship title. The powerful forward, who scored 12 Premier League goals for Ipswich last season, could make his debut for Chelsea against Los Angeles FC in the Fifa Club World Cup on June 16th.
Sammie Szmodics is the safer bet to break up the Idah-Parrott-Ferguson triumvirate despite an injury disrupted first season in the Premier League. The 29-year-old managed seven goals for Ipswich until his ankle injury in January, following up an outstanding 33-goal haul for Blackburn Rovers in the 2023/24 season.
Hallgrímsson tends to play Szmodics off the left, but come the daunting away qualifiers against Portugal and Hungary later this year, a hard-working “false nine” may be required.
Callum Robinson and Tom Cannon are another pair of English-born Irish strikers who both scored 12 goals this season in the Championship, for Cardiff and Sheffield United respectively. Michael Obafemi struggled with just two goals for a Burnley side that stormed back into the Premier League.
