SPOTTING THE NEXT RONAN CURTIS ...
POMPEY are no strangers to finding potential from the Irish division.
In 2018, the Blues broadened their scouting network to sign star Ronan Curtis, right, from Derry City.
It was a gamble that paid off with the winger establishing himself as a key asset in Danny Cowley’s side.
But it’s not just the Fratton Park outfit who have had success, Oxford United have found success from the divison, while Rotherham recently secured Bohemians striker Georgie Kelly in January.
As the League of Ireland season kicked-off in March, we’ve taken a look at the best performers to depict who could catch the eye of League One managers.
Here’s what we found:
Cameron Dummigan: The 25-year-old Derry City player is one of the most established centre-halves in the league - notching up 139 defensive duels as well as making the most interceptions.
Promise Omochere: Bohemian’s Ivory Coast forward can play on the wing or up front, but either way he finds the net - scoring five times in 13 games to date.
Andrew Lyons: Despite, being a wing-back, his attacking runs forward have led him to a shock joint third spot in the goalscoring charts - scoring five times for Shamrock Rovers from defence to date.
Brian Maher: The stopper has conceded the least amount of goals when starting the most amount of games, helping his Derry side to the league’s summit.
Joseph Redmond: The 22-year-old Irishman is proving his worth in the engine room for St Patrick’s Athletic - showing off his technical abilities on the ball with his wide range of passing.
Will Patching: Exciting 23-year-old Irishman is one of the hottest assets in the division at the moment - scoring on seven occasions for Derry, while collecting three assists from midfield.
Brandon Kavanagh: Another midfielder to show off his creative touch, making the most key passes per game in the league. Plays for Bohemian.
Jack Byrne: The Shamrock Rovers midfielder’s attacking qualities have seen him become one of the best forward passers in the division.
Jamie McGonigle: The Derry striker is the division’s top scorer, helping himself to eight goals in 14 games as well as having the highest expected goals in the league to date.
Sam Todd: Another up-andcoming defender in the University College Dublin (UCD) side but is proving to be defensively sound, with his aerial presence in his own box along with his impressive last-ditch defending qualities.
Sean Brennan: Although his UCD side have conceded the most goals in the division, the up-and-coming ex-Southampton central defender is proving a menace to opposing strikers.
Ciaran Kelly: The 23-yearold is one of the best performing central defenders this term - winning 84 per cent of his defensive duels, the highest percentage of any centre-back.