Traditionally players from Ireland don't travel well across the continent. Due to the strong links between Irish and British football the vast majority of Irish players make the move to the UK in their teens and stay there for the duration of their career and foregoing most opportunites to play abroad.
However with Brexit taking effect in recent years it has meant more and more Irish youngsters have looked to across Europe for opportunities and one man leading the way is Troy Parrott.
The Dubliner originally came through the Tottenham Hotspurs academy but spent last season on loan with Eredivisie side Excelsior Rotterdam. He score 17 goals in all competitions, including a hat-trick in the relegation play-off. However his heroics wasn't enough as Excelsior went down but he did catch the eyes of one the Netherlands' top clubs.
He made a permanent switch to AZ Alkmaar for €8 million over the summer, joining the prestigious side that has produced the likes of Moussa Dembélé, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Louis van Gaal.
Parrott made his AZ home debut on Saturday against NEC Nijmegan were AZ won 1-0 after a first half goal directly from a free-kick from Sven Mijnans.
TOOOR! Ein schönes Freistoßtor von Sven #Mijnans! #AZ führt 1:0 gegen #NECNijmegen. #AZNECpic.twitter.com/mPGPpl3V6B
— oranjefussball 🇳🇱 (@oranjefussball) August 17, 2024
It was the perfect start for the side hopeful of reaching the European spots and after the game the squad went over to thank the fans for their support and the AZ social team captured the moment when Parrott was gifted an inflatable parrot from the fans after making his home debut.
🦜🤝#AZ #aznec #TheFutureIsOurs pic.twitter.com/DwaUJK7h9k
— AZ (@AZAlkmaar) August 18, 2024
He was delighted with the gesture and posted a photo of him taking the parrot home on his Instagram.
View this post on Instagram
It's great to see Troy Parrott get such a warm welcome from his new club. He's made the Netherlands his home over the past year having struggled to find his footing in the England across the Championship and League One during various loan spells.
Having a player like Parrott playing in the top flight in a top European league is only a good thing for the Ireland ahead of the Nations League next month. Hopefully Parrott can bring the good vibes from the Netherlands to the Irish camp.
