For years, Irish football fans have been crying out for a prolific goalscorer and in the blink of an eye, it looks like we could be have a production line of number 9s on the way.
Although Evan Ferguson is being lined up as Ireland's main man for the next decade, we could have an ideal strike partner for him in years to come.
Ireland U21 striker Tom Cannon was sent out on loan to Preston North End from Everton in the January transfer window and it's clear that this move has worked wonders for the Merseyside-born man.
Cannon has now found the net five times in his last five games for the Championship outfit and the Irish U21s, and scored a quick fire brace in Preston's win against QPR this afternoon.
A brace and a win in the capital. ☀️ pic.twitter.com/glZoGiHkCZ
— Tom Cannon (@tomcannon_) April 7, 2023
You can watch the two goals here, starting around the .58 second mark
Playing alongside a number of fellow Ireland internationals, it was Robbie Brady who provided the assist for his first goal against QPR.
His strike partner today, Troy Parrott, then set Cannon on his way for his second, just four minutes after he opened the scoring.
The Everton loanee's form has pushed Preston into the race for the playoffs, with Ryan Lowe's side currently sitting just two points adrift of the top six. He's clearly a beloved figure at the club.
Just a spontaneous tweet to say Thomas Christopher Cannon is really good at football. 🔥
— Preston North End FC (@pnefc) April 7, 2023
Tom Cannon's free scoring form
During the last international break, Tom Cannon was called up to Jim Crawford's Ireland U21 team for the first time. During the clash against Iceland in Turner's Cross, Ireland found themselves 1-0 down during the first half, before the 20-year-old produced this classy finish to draw the sides level.
Cool as you like from Tom Cannon to score his first goal for the Ireland U21s 👏pic.twitter.com/nWiHoC6Hc5
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) March 26, 2023
Last week, on his return to club football, Cannon produced this composed finish to seal a 3-1 victory for his side against Blackpool.
🔥 @tomcannon_ scores for Preston to make it 3-0 against Blackpool
Cannon has now scored 4 and assisted 1 in his last 6 games for Preston 👏 pic.twitter.com/Bo76cxgYko
— 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀 (@EvertonNewsFeed) April 1, 2023
Irish fans will be hoping to see Cannon possibly receive a call up to the senior side for June's qualifiers against Gibralter and Greece, especially if he continues his recent rich veign of form.
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