George Best. Norman Whiteside. Kevin Moran. Roy Keane. Denis Irwin. John O'Shea. Manchester United's history has been written by Irish players. With the obvious exception of England, no country has provided the club with more players than the island of Ireland. A combined total of 75 players from north and south of the border have played for United's first team, forging an army of of fans across the Irish Sea.
When United announced they would play a pre-season friendly with Athletic Club in Dublin in August, the 55,000 tickets for the Aviva Stadium sold out in nine minutes. Every two weeks, thousands of fans make the journey across the Irish Sea to Old Trafford. They are joined by countless other local fans living in Manchester with Irish roots, stemming from the mass immigration to the city in the mid-19th century.
Lately, however, this huge United stronghold have been starved of an idol to call their own. This is as much the fault of Ireland as United's, as few great footballers have come out of the country over the past decade. But there is a new kid on the block from their shores who is shaping up to be one of the best strikers in Europe: an 18-year-old named Evan Ferguson. The Brighton teenager set pulses racing with an exciting breakthrough campaign in 2022-23 and has made a flying start to this season, averaging a goal every 51 minutes.
His next stop is Old Trafford for Saturday's clash with United, the club he and his former footballer father, Barry, both support. And if United have any sense, they will already be taking the steps to make the Theatre of Dreams Ferguson's permanent home...