Shamrock Rovers, St Patrick's Athletic and Cork City are producing stars who can make the leap from the League of Ireland to the Premier League.
It was dubbed the problem child yet the League of Ireland has given birth to so many brilliant careers: Roy Keane's, Paul McGrath's, James McClean's, Kevin Doyle's, Wes Hoolahan's, Keith Fahey's and dozens more.
But who are the next batch ready to be snapped up? We check out the five likeliest candidates to make it leap across. Here is the lowdown on Mason Melia, Michael Noonan, Max Kovalevskis, Cathal O’Sullivan and James Roche.Read More: Bookies none the wiser as dramatic LOI title race nears conclusionSo let’s meet Mason Melia, a 17-year-old striker who made his first-team debut for St Pat’s before there were even 16 candles on his birthday cake.
JAMES ROCHE Son of the long-time Rovers chairman, Jonathan Roche, James is a centre-back who switched from midfield when he was advised that a path to senior international football would be easier in the deeper position. MICHAEL NOONAN Linked within the last week to Manchester City, Noonan is guaranteed to be given a lengthy run of games by Stephen Kenny if he ends up staying in Ireland. Tall, left footed, willing to run at defenders, equipped with the ability to produce first-touch finishes, he is already a superb No9 with a reportedly good attitude. How far can he go? As far as fortune takes him.
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