In his latest column, the Betway ambassador backs Ireland’s young attackers to impress against England, and reviews the Premier League season so far.
Young Ireland side have a chance against England
I’m hoping that Ireland can get the win against England on Saturday, and I think they can pull it off. It’s a new England manager in Lee Carsley, he’s brought a lot of new players into the squad and he probably wants to see them in action, so I think there’s probably more of a chance now to beat them.
Heimir Halgrimsson has come across very well since he became the Ireland manager. He’s really taken into the Irish culture, which is very important, and it’ll be big for him to get to know the people of the country.
Ireland have got some good, young attacking players for Hamlgrimsson to choose from. Evan Ferguson is back, but how fit he is, I’m not sure. It would be great to see him getting back to full fitness, but he hasn’t played for a while so I’d say he definitely won’t play 90 minutes.
Troy Parrott had a great season last year and he still only young, even though he seems to have been around for a while. He’s such a good lad as well, so it’s good to see him back. With Adam Idah as well, we definitely have good attacking options that can cause problems for England.
Adam got his permanent move to Celtic and I think the Scottish Premiership is a good league for him. He’s been scoring a lot of goals, playing in Europe will only develop him as a player, and for Celtic to pay that money for him shows that they obviously think very highly of him. Brendan Rodgers has been around and managed some top strikers, so he can obviously see something in Adam.
Jake O’Brien moved to Everton, who haven’t gotten off a good start. He signed for them for a bit of money so you would think that at some stage he’s going to play. If they keep conceding goals, eventually they’re going to have to give him a chance because you’re not buying a defender for that money and not playing him. I think it will be sooner rather than later, and maybe after the international break the manager will have a think about his team selection. Hopefully Jake does come into the team because he’s definitely one for the future.
Szmodics joins Ipswich’s Irish contingent
Sammie Szmodics has joined Ipswich and he got a good goal against Man City, which will do his confidence the world of good. To have any Irish strikers playing the Premier League is a huge thing for me, because for the last 10 years we haven’t had too many. Playing at a high level against the top Premier League defenders will of course give you the best chance to move forward and develop as a player.
In Szmodics, Chiedozie Ogbene and Dara O’Shea, Ipswich have a good trio of Irish players and I hope they stay up. I knew Kieran McKenna as a young kid at Tottenham. Unfortunately he had to stop playing due to injury, but he was always loving the coaching and he’s doing a good job. He knows where he is at Ipswich – he’s getting Irish and British players in who he knows will give him a chance to stay in the Premier League. They’ll fight, there’s no question about that. I hope they beat the drop for Kieran and the Irish lads’ sakes, but of course in the Premier League it’s always going to be difficult.
Carsley has the qualities to be permanent England boss
Lee Carsley and I speak quite a lot, and his biggest quality is that he’s a really good person. He’s a very good coach who thinks about the game and is a very clever guy. The lads will really like him because he’s a humble guy and will speak to anybody, regardless of who they are.
Whether he gets the permanent manager’s job, I’m not too sure, but if he does a good job, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t. It’s not about where you’re from, it’s about whether you’re a good coach, and Lee certainly is. He’s got the respect of the players, which is I think is the most important thing.
Wrapping up the transfer window
I think West Ham and Aston Villa had the most best transfer window of all the Premier League sides. I think they’ve both made some really good signings. Aston Villa signed Amadou Onana from Everton and I think he could be the best signing of the window. It looks like he’s fitting in really well.
Perhaps the biggest moves of deadline day were Jadon Sancho joining Chelsea and Raheem Sterling going to Arsenal. Sancho is a very, very skilful player, but my worry for Chelsea is that they have so many wingers and I don’t know where he will fit in. In terms of ability, he’s obviously very good and he’s still young.
I think Sterling could be a very good bit of business for Arsenal. He’s proven in the Premier League, and he and Mikel Arteta know each others’ personalities, which is key. I don’t think Arteta would have signed him if he didn’t think he would fit into their system, and into the group with his personality.
Sterling has been there, he’s won the Premier League and knows what it takes. He will help a lot of young players and I think he could be a really big signing.
Of the two players, I think Sterling has the best chance of a successful season because of his experience, and Arsenal are a strong team, where Chelsea are a bit unstable.
Spurs face a battle for the top four
I hope Tottenham can get into the top four but I would have liked them to have signed a couple more players. I’d have liked them to have strengthened in attacking midfield with a player like Eberechi Eze, for example. I’ve always liked him and I’m surprised nobody has come in for him. He really seems like a Tottenham player to me.
I think Spurs still have enough to compete, and if Dominic Solanke gets up and running and starts scoring goals they might have a chance, but it will be definitely be close between Spurs and Aston Villa.
Liverpool shaping up to contend again
Liverpool have been the watch of the season, for me. They couldn’t have wished to have got off to a better start, playing one of their rivals in Manchester United 3-0. That will do their confidence the world of good.
They look strong and Arne Slot has fit in so well. He seems a good guy, speaks very well, and I think they could be contenders. I think it’s going to be Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool in the top three again.
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