Irish players in Europe are becoming ever more common.
There is a well travelled path when it comes to making it as a professional in this country. We send our best young players across the Irish Sea in their teens, where it is then left to the English academy system to nurture the talents that will eventually populate our senior international team.
That is slowly changing.
Not only are we putting together an academy system that will grant players the opportunity to stay in Ireland for their footballing education, but many are also choosing to move a bit further afield in order to further their career.
With the nature of international football in 2021, we also have a number of young prospects that were born and play their club football on the continent and represent Ireland.
Zack Elbouzedi was the latest player to add to this growing contingent, with the Dubliner's move to Swedish side AIK confirmed this afternoon.
It prompted us to ask the question, just how many Irish players are plying their trade on the continent at the moment?
The answer is: quite a few.
A number of the names on this list will be very recognisable, including many who are currently part of Ireland underage squads.
We have broken it down by country below.
Irish Players In Europe
Spain
Ryan Nolan - Getafe
John Joe Patrick Finn - Getafe
Ryan Johansson - Sevilla
Caden McLoughlin - Villarreal
Kevin Toner - La Nucía
Germany
Anselmo Garcia McNulty - Wolfsburg
Conor Noss - Borussia Monchengladbach
Noe Baba - Fortuna Koln
Daniel Rose - Schalke
France
Deji Sotona - Nice
Glory Nzingo - Stade de Reims
Belgium
Josh Cullen - Anderlecht
Cyprus
Jack Byrne - APOEL Nicosia
Jack Hallahan - PAEEK
Sweden
Zack Elbouzedi - AIK
Switzerland
Connor Ronan - Grasshopper Club Zürich
The Netherlands
Liam Kelly - Feyenoord
Liam Bossin - FC Dordrecht
Bulgaria
Graham Carey - CSKA Sofia
Conor Henderson - Pirin Blagoevgrad
Norway
Sean McDermott - Kristiansund
We will no doubt see a number of new names added to that list in the near future.
Kevin Zefi's is likely to be the next one, with the Shamrock Rovers youngster finally set to complete his long anticipated move to Inter Milan in the coming weeks.
SEE ALSO: Here Are All Of The Irish Transfers That Have Been Completed This Summer
