Wes Hoolahan provides one of the great 'what ifs' of Irish football over the last couple of decades.
There is no doubt that the Dubliner is amongst the most talented footballers we have produced on this island in quite some time, boasting the type of technical ability that very few could match.
Unfortunately, successive Republic of Ireland managers didn't really see it that way. It is a crime that Hoolahan only won 43 international caps, only one of which came before his 30th birthday.
Having a player of his ability would have had the potential to unlock a completely different dynamic in the team with the right manager in charge. Alas, his contributions were mostly limited to that Euro 2016 campaign.
While he may have retired from international football in 2017, Hoolahan is still going strong at club level. Having spent time in Australia, he would return to English football a couple of years ago.
He has hardly missed a beat since. Not only did he help Cambridge United to earn promotion from League Two last season, but he has been starring in League One as a 39-year old in the current campaign. He has started the majority of his club's fixtures in the division, picking up nine assists in all competitions along the way.
Hoolahan was back in the team for yesterday's draw at Burton Albion, with one sequence of play showing that he still has plenty left in the tank.
Despite playing on a very poor surface, the veteran would at one stage pick up the ball deep in his own half and dance by four opposition players and playing a beautiful pass to one of his teammates.
Sit back and enjoy this.
Even at 39-years old, you're just not getting the ball off Wes Hoolahan 😍pic.twitter.com/4zZV7WErG7
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) February 13, 2022
A master at work.
Despite his advancing years, Hoolahan clearly hasn't lost any of that trademark ability on the ball.
He has been linked with a return to Shelbourne in recent weeks, although the midfielder now looks set to stay at Cambridge until at least the end of the season.
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