Big focus on Festy Ebosele as Ireland's impact sub shows Wayne Rooney he can be a superstar
After two years with Udinese and on loan to Watford, Wexford's Festy Ebosele showed why Wayne Rooney said he can be a superstar with his assist against Finland
Festy Ebosele has gone from having his attitude questioned by Wayne Rooney to big Serie A nights and a starring role with Ireland in Helsinki.
Now Heimir Hallgrimsson is considering him for a first starting role for his country in Athens on Sunday night.
One of the big highlights of Ireland's victory over Finland was Ebosele's outstanding assist for Robbie Brady's 88th minute winner. Ebosele came off the bench eight minutes earlier for Chiedozie Ogbene at the Olympic Stadium and made a match-winning impact.
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With time running out, it seemed that he had run into a cul-de-sac on the right wing. But instead of taking the easy option and passing back to Dara O'Shea, the 22-year-old backed himself.
Ebosele cut into the gap that suddenly appeared between two Finland defenders who were clearly also expecting the Ireland novice to find O'Shea.
Then he looked up and picked the perfect option, a floated left-foot cross to the back post to where Brady was arriving to score the goal that Hallgrimsson and his team had been waiting for to kick-start the Icelander's reign.
Ebosele hails from Enniscorthy in Wexford and played his schoolboy football with Moyne Rangers before spending two years with Bray Wanderers' academy from when he was 14.
A move to Derby County followed two years later in 2018 and, after making his senior Rams debut in 2021, he played 38 Championship games for the club over two seasons.
With the club put into administration, Ebosele agreed a move to Serie A outfit Udinese and before Derby were relegated that season, Rooney relegated the pacy right wing-back to the under-23s for training, complaining: "Festy's attitude wasn't right, wasn't great, I left him out of the squad because of it.
“I said a few months ago he can be a superstar, he can be what he wants. He really needs to keep his focus, his concentration, and keep learning to develop. Just by sheer pace and power alone he has got something which every player wants.”
Ebosele joined Udinese in the summer of 2022 on a five-year deal and made excellent progress before grabbing the headlines last November, earning the penalty that saw the Bianconeri record a shock win away to AC Milan.
New team boss Gabriele Coffi said at the time: “He played a great game. He has goals in him and he will find them, he is on the right path. Ebosele is maturing match after match, he is on the right path and must continue to work with his head down.”
An Ireland international from under-16 level on, his contribution against Milan came just a few weeks after he made his senior Ireland debut off the bench against France.
As part of the learning process, Ebosele was sent to Watford - a sister club of Udinese - on a season's loan deal at the start of last month, having made 48 appearances for the Italian side over his two seasons there.
He scored on his home debut for the Hornets and has played four times for his loan club, including three times in the Championship.
Since that debut against France, Ebosele has come off the bench for Ireland for brief cameos against the Netherlands and Belgium.
Seamus Coleman's injury against England last month opened the door for him to be called into the squad for the Greece game that followed, before he made his 10 minutes against Finland count on Thursday night.
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