In news that came as a huge surprise to the Irish footballing public, it was reported earlier today that Matt Doherty is on the verge of a move to Atletico Madrid.
The Dubliner has been a bit part player at Spurs this season, finding himself in and out of the side. He has completed the full 90 minutes in the Premier League on only three occasions over the course of the campaign.
Tottenham's proposed move for Pedro Porro was likely to cut his playing time even further, although there had not been many suggestions that he would leave North London before the end of the transfer window.
Atlético Madrid are set to sign Matt Doherty on loan deal from Tottenham, here we go! Agreement in place — no buy option clause included. 🚨⚪️🔴 #Atléti #THFC
Medical booked for Doherty who’s set to leave as Porro will join Tottenham — first call, @marca. pic.twitter.com/k07mYlCiuU— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 31, 2023
Considering this move came completely out of the blue, it seems like a very good opportunity for Matt Doherty. Atletico Madrid have been one of the most consistent teams in European football over the last decade or so, with Diego Simeone also proving to be an excellent coach to work under for defensive players.
It is difficult not to draw comparisons between this deal and the one that brought Kieran Trippier to the Spanish capital. The Englishman had suffered a severe loss of from at Spurs, only to turn his career around in Madrid. Doherty will be hoping for a similar outcome on this occasion.
Matt Doherty to record Irish first with Atletico Madrid move
Irish players playing their trade in La Liga is a relatively rare occurrence.
John Joe Patrick Finn is the most recent one, with the teenager making six appearances for Getafe over the last couple of seasons. However, he was born and raised in Spain and has yet to feature for Ireland at youth level, although he has declared his intentions to do so.
Ian Harte and Steve Finnan also had stints in Spain in the 00s with Levante and Espanyol respectively. Other than that, you would have to go back to the 80s to John Aldridge and Michael Robinson's time in the country to find another Irish example.
Should Matt Doherty complete his move before the end of the window, he would record an impressive first among Irish players. Namely, he would become the first footballer from Ireland to play for one of Spain's big three clubs: Barcelona, Real Madrid, or Atletico Madrid.
While Real Madrid and Barcelona are the biggest clubs in Spain, Atletico Madrid have long been considered as the best of the rest in terms of prestige. That was even the case when they were badly struggling a couple of decades ago, with that status being cemented by their successes in recent seasons.
No Irish player has ever played for any of those clubs up to this point, although Barcelona were managed by Dublin native Patrick O'Connell back in the 1930s.
The amount of footballers from this country making the move to the continent has increased in recent years, something that is a welcome development.
Should Matt Doherty prove to be a success at Atletico, you'd imagine we could see more Irish players move to Spain in the future.
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