When Shane Long hears people talk about this season being a turning point, he might be tempted to look back to when things truly changed.
He might note where he stands in his career this summer as some of the biggest clubs in Europe pay attention to him, compare it to other stages of his footballing life and feel that the turning points were long ago.
There was a time when Long’s rawness as a footballer was viewed as such a hindrance that Reading were considering letting him go to Darlington. If he moves club this summer, his choices will be grander.
On Friday night, Mauricio Pochettino was at the Aviva as part of a Tottenham Hotspur delegation looking at the forward, who scored Ireland’s only goal.
Here is that Shane Long goal again. If you want to admire O'Shea's thumping header of Robbie Brady's corner #IRLNEDhttps://t.co/6L7dhFHOxB
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) May 27, 2016
It is now likely that Long will leave Southampton after the European Championships as a number of clubs monitor a player whose idiosyncrasies, which were once viewed as a hindrance, are now seen as one of his strengths.
Famously, after a childhood devoted to GAA, Long didn’t take up football until he was 12. In a game which is now dominated by players educated in academies, his differences make him stand out.
English football slavishly follows trends, but this trend may benefit Long. The success of Jamie Vardy has forced clubs to be more imaginative, to consider that there are more routes to the top than a graduation from a top academy.
Now they are reflecting that some players schooled differently can make a big difference as they have not had the instinct taken out of them and Long fits comfortably into this category.
There are times when he can be frustrating, but his goalscoring record continues to improve. His energy appeals to clubs like Tottenham and Liverpool, but he has attracted interest from Spain and Italy, with Juventus also said to be looking at the player who scored for his country again on Friday night.
There has always been speculation linking Long with European clubs only for him to remain among the mid-table sides in the Premier League, but there is a sense that, at 29, things are different now.
EXCLUSIVE: Juventus join list of leading clubs to express interest in signing Shane Long https://t.co/wr7tdP3SQP
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) May 28, 2016
His age should be no restriction as he developed late and has played fewer high intensity games than those who started playing in the top flight in their late teens.
If he has a successful European Championships then his appeal will extend further than the Premier League, but he is still likely to stay in England, even if he leaves Southampton.
Ronald Koeman wants to keep him and, having signed Charlie Austin in January on a rumoured £70,000 a week, it may be that the club have to give a lot in the renegotiation of Long’s contract.
He has two years left on his current deal and Tottenham have been interested for some time. They know a lot about Long at White Hart Lane. Pochettino attended the game on Friday night with his assistant Jesús Pérez and the club’s head of recruitment Paul Mitchell.
Mitchell was previously at Southampton where he signed Long in 2014 shortly before he followed Pochettino to Spurs.
Pochettino, who left Southampton the summer Long arrived at the club, was pictured with the player’s adviser Pat Dolan at the game against Holland at the Aviva. Also in the party was Nicky Hammond, who is now with West Brom, but was the director of football at Reading when Long signed for the club as part of the deal which brought Kevin Doyle from Cork City.
The group enjoyed a meal at Luna restaurant in Dublin’s city centre afterwards, and with Champions League football next season, Pochettino may be tempted to follow up on his interest and add Long to his squad.
Liverpool have been linked with a move as well, and while there was little in the rumour in January, Long’s form since the turn of the year has altered the view of him within the club.
For many the turning point was Long’s goal against Germany, but that might be too simplistic a view of his development.
The goal against Germany might have given Long confidence, but others might have more confidence in him as well.
Certainly Long had struggled over the course of the campaign. When he was selected ahead of Robbie Keane for the game against Scotland in Glasgow, it was seen as the changing of the guard, but the defeat and the poor performance in that match seemed to set him back in Martin O’Neill’s eyes. When Poland visited Dublin in March, Keane started again with Long on the bench.
It’s staggering to thing that Daryl Murphy was selected ahead of Long for the game against Scotland in June, as well as the Germany match when, of course, Long came on to score. Long also came from the bench to equalise against Poland in March so O’Neill may have needed plenty of persuasion too. Murphy or Doyle may now struggle to make the squad, although it is Long’s room-mate Doyle who will be under threat from the emergence of David McGoldrick as well as O’Neill’s selection of James McClean upfront.
Injury is the only thing that will stop Long going to France as Ireland’s first-choice forward which is quite a change.
At the start of this season, O’Neill still sounded unconvinced by Long, stressing his need to score more goals.
“Shane is capable of scoring a great goal but what we want Shane to be is a great goal-scorer,” O’Neill said last August. “Whatever you say about him, Robbie Keane comes out and plays a No 10 role quite often. He’s done it at Tottenham and different clubs but can still find time to get into the penalty box to score a goal because that’s what he feels is his major contribution. Shane has got to get into that mentality.”
Since August, Long has demonstrated his mentality. He could be on the verge of a special summer for club and country, but the turning points were long ago.
