Blackburn Rovers' young Irish star Andrew Moran announced his arrival in top-level football on Wednesday night with a superb performance in the Carabao Cup.
Moran - on loan from Premier League club Brighton - starred as Blackburn smashed Cardiff City in the third round of the cup at Ewood Park on Wednesday. The 19-year-old scored two goals and made another two as Rovers ran out 5-2 winners to book a fourth round trip to Chelsea.
The Dublin native signed for Brighton in the summer of 2020, and is held in high regard by the youth talent at the club as one of the brightest prospects currently on the Seagulls' books - high praise at a club famed for their production of young players in recent years.
Reports towards the end of the transfer window suggested that Moran's move to Blackburn was due to the attractive, possession-based game employed by manager Jon Dahl Tomasson, with Brighton feeling it would be perfectly suited to developing the Irishman's game.
Based on Wednesday night's evidence, it is a match made in heaven, and the Rovers manager praised Andrew Moran in his post-match interview, saying he believes there is more to come.
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Blackburn Rovers: Andrew Moran stars in Carabao Cup 3rd round win
This was Ireland U21 star Andrew Moran's second goal of the night for Blackburn! What a player 😳pic.twitter.com/ohpwWWKpYS
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) September 27, 2023
Speaking after his side's 5-2 victory over Cardiff City in the Carabao Cup third round, Blackburn Rovers manager Jon Dahl Tomasson commented on the performance of star man Andrew Moran.
Tomasson praised Moran, and went on to suggest he felt the midfielder could have scored even more than the double he ended up with:
He's a great player first of all.
He scores goals, he can give assists. He's intelligent, his flair on the ball is extremely good...to carry the ball, he's good to play one or two touches. He works hard for the team.
You saw Moran getting two goals...could also have been a hat-trick, he was also involved with some assists as well.
The Rovers boss would add that he and the staff at the club were thrilled with the attitude displayed by Moran, saying that the Dubliner was "very ambitious":
[He's] a young boy, a young man who is also very driven. He wants to become better, he is very ambitious, so we are very pleased with Andy.
It is hugely encouraging to hear of yet another bright Irish talent thriving, and Wednesday night's heroics were not the first standout moment from Andrew Moran this season.
Moran has evidently settled in well at Blackburn, if his performances earlier this season are anything to go off, while he also delivered a sensational performance in Ireland's dramatic win over Turkey in an U21 international earlier this month.
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