Meath players on the move in England
SOCCER
It 's not often that two players from the same Irish county, get a chance to play directly against each other in the FA Cup but it happened on Saturday when Brighton & Hove Albion defeated Stoke City 4-2 with Joao Pedro netting two goals.
Evan Ferguson and Luke McNally were pitted against each other for almost all the second-half during this encounter played at Stoke's bet365 Stadium.
Ferguson is fast becoming Bettystown's most famous son and he has continued to make a sensational impact in the upper echelons of English football.
He started off this season in August when he came on as a substitute and found the net in Brighton's 4-1 win over Premier newcomers Luton Town. He has since gone on to score at a regular rate for the Seagulls including his first Premier hat-trick in the 3-1 win over Newcastle Utd in September. He was also named as the RTE Young Sportsperson of the Year for 2023 in December.
From Enfield, centre-back McNally has continued to steadily add to his experience in English football. After spells with Drogheda Utd and St Patrick's Athletic, McNally was signed by Vincent Kompany's Burnley in the summer of 2022 for what is believed to be fee reported to be close to £2 million. He has had loan spells with Coventry City and now Stoke City for whom he came on just before half-time in Saturday's clash.
Talented young goalkeeper Josh Keeley will have a chance to add to his bank of experience as he has moved from Tottenham Hotspurs to Barnet on a loan spell for the rest of this season.
The young Dunboyne man (20) was involved with the first team squad at Tottenham for the pre-season as new manager Ange Postecoglou started his reign at White Hart Lane but in a club of that stature any opportunities to appear in the first team are clearly going to be strictly limited.
By moving to non-league Barnet Keeley will get a chance to get some game-time in a first team environment. Keeley joined Spurs from St Patrick's Athletic, a club he turned out for in the Premier Div and the FAI Cup games.
He has international experience as he has been on various Irish under-age squads up to u-21 level. Barnet are managed by Dublin-born Dean Brennan and they are up near the top of the National League although they are some way behind Chesterfield who are well in front of the rest.
Another Meath player who will be hoping to gain added experience is Dawson Devoy from Ashbourne. He has been signed by Swindon Town from MK Dons until the end of the 2023/'24 season.
The 22-year old midfielder certainly impressed when he was with Bohemians in the League of Ireland and was signed by MK Dons and has gone on to making 30 appearances for them. He has also been capped seven times at u-21 level for the Republic of Ireland.
This season Devoy has made 14 appearances for the Dons scoring one goal and providing three assists. A change of environment could be just what Devoy needs to inject further momentum into his career.
Navan's Sam Curtis is another player who could be on the move to England during this transfer window with both Manchester clubs, City and United, thought to be interested in the St Patrick's athletic teenager.