Ireland have been major beneficiaries of the 'granny rule' for the bast part of half a century, with some of the best players in green down through the years having been born overseas.
The FAI have certainly been thorough in recruiting such footballers. They keep a close eye on young talents in the UK, attempting to bring them into the Irish youth setup and hopefully eventually graduate into the senior team.
Of course, the sources of such players is now also changing. Whereas almost all of the 'granny rule' players were recruited from England and Scotland in the past, quite a few current members of Ireland youth teams were born on continental Europe.
That is no bad thing, bringing a different footballing philosophy to the respective squads. One such player is now on the move.
Ireland U21 star set for intriguing European loan move
Anselmo Garcia MacNulty is a very highly rated prospect, coming through the youth ranks at Real Betis before being snapped up by Wolfsburg.
The Spanish-born centre back qualifies to play for Ireland through his mother who hails from Clare, being capped in green from U15 up to U21 level.
He is now on the move at club level once again, with the player set to join Eredivisie side PEC Zwolle on loan for the upcoming campaign.
Younes Namli trainde vanochtend voor het eerst mee met @PECZwolle dat Thomas Lam verwelkomt en Gabi Caschilli uitzwaait naar @SCCambuurLwd. Vanmiddag wordt de transfer van Anselmo Garcia Mc Nulty afgerond. Woensdag volgt nog een nieuwe buitenspeler. Dat betekent dat @PECZwolle pic.twitter.com/0VG1ezVGAU
— Erik Riemens (@Riemenserik) July 25, 2023
Garcia MacNulty also spent last season on loan in The Netherlands, although this was done at second tier club NAC Breda. He made 32 league appearances, helping the club to a sixth place finish.
That was clearly enough to catch the attentions of PEC Zwolle, who were promoted to the top division at the end of the campaign. This will be the player's first season in top flight football, meaning it is quite a sizeable step forward in his career.
The 20-year old has been linked with a number of top European clubs in recent years, with Wolfsburg's decision to send him on loan this season suggesting that he is likely viewed as a future contributor at the club. He made his Ireland U21 debut against Iceland back in March.
It will be interesting to see how he fares against a very high level of opposition in the months ahead.
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