First teenage striker to score in the Premier League

**samhaydenjr** · 24/03/2018, 8:12 PM

Over the past eighteen months or so, we've seen the emergence of quite a number of young Irish strikers and I thought I'd ask the question: which of these potential "New Robbie Keanes" will be the first to score in the Premier League? Yes, I know, it's unlikely any of them individually will emulate Keane's international record but if a few of them have the potential to score 30+ goals internationally then we will be well set for strikers for the foreseeable future...

Edit: this was supposed to be a poll but I couldn't figure out how to include it (advice would be appreciated) so I'll just list options below and get responses. So our main options, and the reasons I'm including them are:

1. Glen McAuley - probably the first of this group who started to make an impact - prolific for Liverpool U18s for a season and a half and has recently moved up to U23 level
2. Michael Obafemi - first of this group to make his Premier League debut - regular scorer for Southampton U18s including an FA Youth cup hat-trick and now scoring for our U19s
3. Ronan Hale - had a fantastic season for Birmingham U18s, then seemed to find the step-up to U23 level difficult, but has since made a terrific start to his senior career on loan to Derry
4. Aaron Connolly - top-scorer in qualifiers for last year's UEFA U17 Championships, has already moved up to U23 level at Brighton and has even tasted first-team action in the EFL Cup
5. Adam Idah - top-scorer in qualifiers for this year's UEFA U17 Championships, has over 20 goals for our U17s, started scoring regularly after moving from College Corinthians to Norwich, including n FA Youth cup Hat-trick and has been moved up to U23 level already
6. Jonathan Afolabi - moved up to U23 level at Southampton before Obafemi and got a few goals; got a brace for our U19s in qualifying
7. Rowan Roache - has been scoring regularly for Blackpool's U18s, including during their march to the FA Youth Cup semis; has scored today for our U19s
8. Ryan Cassidy - moved to Watford only last summer and has been scoring for fun since, topping the scoring charts in the U18 Professional Development League; rewarded with a move up to U23 level, where he had a near-instant impact, scoring a hat-trick in his second start
9. Aaron Drinan - moved from Waterford to Ipswich late last year and has been scoring regularly for their U23s as well as being selected for senior matchday squads
10. Jordan McEneff - Recently broke into the Arsenal U18 team and bagged his first goal
11. Troy Parrott - younger than the others but highly rated, has just broken into the Spurs U18 team
12. Armstrong OkoFlex - not sure if we'll manage to keep him, but he has played for our U16s, scoring twice in the Victory Shield and has broken into the Arsenal U18 team

**Olé Olé** · 24/03/2018, 8:27 PM

Obafemi looks the most likely at present and there's doubts about him staying put.

**samhaydenjr** · 24/03/2018, 8:56 PM

Originally Posted by Olé Olé

Obafemi looks the most likely at present and there's doubts about him staying put.

Yes there is definitely that possibility - however, even after his debut, he has answered the call to our U19s, scoring today. Hopefully we can beat Portugal to qualify, as the experience of playing in a finals tournament would surely increase his loyalty to Ireland.

**tetsujin1979** · 24/03/2018, 9:29 PM

I think we're going to have to accept that any promising underage player who qualifies to play for one, or more, other nations will be subject to speculation about changing their international allegiances until they play a competitive game for the senior team.
Of course, this is going to be the same for most international sides, and like all of them we're going to suffer and benefit from the same rules.

**DeLorean** · 27/03/2018, 10:10 AM

Originally Posted by samhaydenjr

5. Adam Idah - top-scorer in qualifiers for this year's UEFA U17 Championships, has over 20 goals for our U17s, started scoring regularly after moving from College Corinthians to Norwich, including n FA Youth cup Hat-trick and has been moved up to U23 level already

Idah to replace Ibra... https://www.independent.ie/sport/soc...-36747865.html

**tetsujin1979** · 27/03/2018, 10:19 AM

You lost me at "calciomercatoweb"

**DeLorean** · 27/03/2018, 10:27 AM

The Italian SportsJoe!

**Olé Olé** · 27/03/2018, 11:33 AM

Ah lads. That is dreadful by the Indo if that's their only source.

**DeLorean** · 27/03/2018, 11:43 AM

The Indo is pretty dreadful these days. It was also reported on Cork's RedFM this morning, presumably from the same source though.

If Man Utd are actually interested, I'd imagine it's completely unrelated to Ibrahimovic's departure!

**pineapple stu** · 27/03/2018, 6:04 PM

Originally Posted by samhaydenjr

Edit: this was supposed to be a poll but I couldn't figure out how to include it (advice would be appreciated)

I think only mods can start polls.

So over to tets

**Paddy Garcia** · 27/03/2018, 6:22 PM

Young goal scorers - I remember when I thought Andy Turner was heralding a bright new dawn .....................

**tetsujin1979** · 27/03/2018, 9:51 PM

I can't add a poll to an existing thread, I can only create a new thread with a poll, so I've created a new thread and merged the two

**samhaydenjr** · 27/03/2018, 11:36 PM

Originally Posted by tetsujin1979

I can't add a poll to an existing thread, I can only create a new thread with a poll, so I've created a new thread and merged the two

Cool, thanks

**samhaydenjr** · 20/04/2018, 3:10 AM

Whoops, I didn't even get to vote in my own poll! Anyway I've been giving it some thought and I think there is a possibility that this could happen before the end of the season. If so all the players at Championship/League One/Airtricity League clubs would be ruled out. And it's too early for Parrott, McEneff and Okoflex. Glen McAuley has only just broken into the Liverpool U23s, a club that has a wealth of forward talent, so it will be next season at least before he sees first-team action, probably with a loan. Meanwhile, with Southampton in a relegation dogfight, I can't see another appearance for Michael Obafemi this season or a promotion for Jonathan Afolabi (relegation might actually be good for their careers). But look at Brighton and Watford: two clubs who are essentially safe with four games remaining, with strike-forces that could hardly be described as prolific. Brighton's top scorer is 34-year-old Glenn Murray with 12, while Abdoulaye Doucoure tops Watford's scoring list with 7! So surely there must be a possibility of a call-up for Aaron Connolly and/or Ryan Cassidy before the season is out. And while Ryan Cassidy has made a big impact at Watford this season at U18 and U23 levels, I think Connolly's recent form, his experience and the fact that he has already tasted first-team action makes him the most likely to play and score before the end of this Premier League season