Search icon

Football

24th Jul 2016

Leicester pursue Ireland-eligible striker who they believe could be the next Jamie Vardy

No pressure

Darragh Murphy

Martin O’Neill could have an absolute gem on his hands.

Scott Hogan, the Brentford striker that O’Neill admitted to be thinking about after Euro 2016, has been earning himself plenty of keen admirers.

The Republic of Ireland boss is not the only manager monitoring Hogan as it’s emerged that the young forward is on the radar of Premier League champions Leicester.

The Sun report that Leicester view Hogan as “the next Jamie Vardy” and are considering making an offer for the 24-year-old.

Hogan and Vardy have a similar club history with both men having featured for Stocksbridge Park Steels and Halifax Town early on in their careers.

Hogan missed a large chunk of last season for Brentford after suffering a serious knee injury but returned in style, scoring seven goals in seven games to close out the campaign.

Brentford v Cardiff City - Sky Bet Championship

The Manchester-born player is eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland through his Irish grandparents and was actually called up to the U21 side in 2014 but didn’t play a game.

“I’m eligible to play for them but I’m a Brentford player and the last thing I’m thinking of is who I’m going to represent internationally,” Hogan recently said. “It’s getting ahead of myself a bit too much.”

Let’s hope Alan Judge has a word in his ear.

Listen to our new GAA podcast with Colm Parkinson. Click here to subscribe on iTunes.

The FootballJOE quiz: Were you paying attention? – episode 10