Five Young Irish Players to Catch the Eye In 24/25

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In a little under two weeks you will see myself back on @reptracker tweeting “Sammie Szmodics scores”, or your whole timeline on a Saturday at 2pm being taken up with which Irish players are starting or are on the bench. I am personally very excited for what is to come for the Irish players abroad who are representing our country at club level. I feel that this could be a great season for our Irish lads with Heimir Hallgrimsson having some real quality and depth to pick from. I’m going to give five players that I think could really start to make themselves a household name to Irish football fans this season.

Tyler Goodrham:

Goodrham is a player who is yet to be capped at underage level by Ireland but an u21 call up is inevitable at some stage this coming season. With Goodrham and Oxford United playing in the championship next season it will give Tyler an even bigger platform to showcase his talents. He is a lovely footballer who operates on the left wing or as a number 10, using his low centre of gravity to glide past defenders. Tyler scored eight times and assisted four in League One last season but even more impressive was his performance at Wembley in the play off final where he was outstanding. A player to certainly watch out for this season.

Aidomo Emakhu:

Aidomo Emakhu is a player who is very well known to League of Ireland fans for some of the goals he scored just as a kid for Shamrock Rovers in the European qualifiers. Emakhu left Rovers for Millwall in January 2023 and it was in all honesty a move in which people did not know how successful it would be for Aidomo who had the challenge of going from an impact sub at Rovers to breaking into a Championship team. But in the 23/24 season Emakhu looked like a player who was on another level and I can confidently say he is the most improved player in Irish football over the last year and half. His performances for the Ireland u21’s have also been brilliant with the 96th minute winner he scored against Turkey being a moment that anyone who was in Turners Cross that night will never forget. Emakhu is starting and scoring for Millwall in pre-season and is someone I can really see hitting the ground running this coming season.

Rocco Vata:

Ever since Rocco Vata made his first team debut for Celtic in 2022 he’s been a player that Celtic fans have often questioned Brendan Rodgers on why he hasn’t given him an opportunity to play more often in the first team. The chances just never came for Rocco at his boyhood club and he made the decision to move to Watford earlier this month. Vata is a footballer who oozes class and will get you off your feet which he has shown for the Ireland u21’s scoring 5 goals in 2 qualifiers. Vata is already a fan favourite at Vicarage Road after three pre-season games after some excellent performances and if you want to know how highly they rate him, just search Vata’s name on Twitter. If Rocco can hit the ground running in the league which I think he will do, there is a real possibility that Heimir Hallgrimsson gives him a senior call up before the year is out. Vata is a top class talent who has a huge future in the game.

Armstrong Okoflex:

Okoflex has been a player that has divided opinions in Irish football over the last number of years. Armstrong played for St Kevins before moving to Arsenal where as a teen he was going viral on social media for his skills but at 16 he moved to Celtic in hope for a better route to first team football. Unfortunately like many other Irish players over the last few years he didn’t receive many first team opportunities. After a couple of fairly decent seasons with West Ham’s u21’s, Armstrong joined FC Zurich. Despite not playing as many minutes last season as he would have wanted he looked very good in glimpses and was well liked amongst supporters. His gametime significantly increased once current manager Ricardo Moniz was appointed in April. In his 20 minute cameo against Shelbourne on Thursday, he looked very good playing with that swagger that we saw for the Ireland u21s last October when he scored twice in a 2-1 win away to Latvia. The task now for Okoflex is to become a regular starter for FC Zurich and the Ireland u21’s. He has more than enough talent to do it and I think this year could be the year he blossoms. 

Ike Orazi:

Leaving possibly the most rogue shout to last but I really think we have a potential superstar on our hands in Ike Orazi. Anyone who watched the u17 European Championships in 2023 will know how talented he is, as Ike tore up the competition whilst playing an age group up. Orazi left Shamrock Rovers last summer aged 16 for French club Stade Reims. Interestingly Reims policy is to bring in the best young talents across the globe then develop them for a number of years and eventually sell them on for huge profit. I can certainly see this being the case with Orazi. Although he most likely won’t be in the first team pre Christmas, I can certainly see him being fast tracked to the first team at some stage over the course of the season. Reims clearly have high hopes for him after putting him on the bench in a Ligue 1 game at just 16 years old in April.This lad is going to be a star, remember the name!

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