It’s never easy to evaluate how players from the League of Ireland will handle the step up when they move on, but we’ve seen enough quality come out of that league to know it’s worth taking a few chances on talent.
It’s been reported that Celtic and Shamrock Rovers are keeping tabs on St Patrick’s winger Darragh Burns – a 19-year-old who’s played for Ireland through the various youth levels and he does look like a talented player.
Realistically, he looks like a signing who might have to go out on loan initially to continue his development at a higher level while also playing regularly, but there’s plenty to like about him when you look at his highlights:
The obvious strength appears in the timing of his runs to stay onside and his eye for goal, but that could also be a curse when he moves to the next level as well.
Too often, we see players like this who lose that ruthlessness when they play for a much bigger club and they start to play within themselves and pass to more established teammates rather than trying to do it themselves, so it would be interesting to see how that part of his game worked out.
The interest from Shamrock would offer him a slight step up and more guaranteed playing time, so it may come down to his preferences over playing every week or making the biggest possible move.
