Irish Premier League contingent concentrated at 7 clubs

With the dust barely settled on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, it's time to look ahead to the upcoming Premier League season, and in particular the Irish talent that will be on show.

Over the last 10 Premier League seasons, there has been an average of 26 Irish eligible players in the league each year, while an average of 18 Irish eligible players have made an appearance each year.

These numbers were brought down by last season: 12 in total, with seven making an appearance, none of whom were part of the top six. While these numbers look worrying, it must be said that there is plenty of young players waiting in the wings of the English youth system who could burst onto the scene.

Ex-St Pat's attacker Mason Melia became the first million-pound man from the League of Ireland and made his senior debut for Spurs in a pre-season friendly during the week, Victor Ozhianvuna is set to join Arsenal from Shamrock Rovers in January, and the likes of Brentford's Conor McManus, Newcastle's Rory Finneran, and Manchester United's Jacob Devaney continue to work for an opening.

While it is yet to be seen if these players will make an impact in the top flight, we look at the 13 established stars most likely to take to the field this season.

Caoimhín Kelleher

Age: 27

Team: Brentford

International Caps: 32

Total Premier League Appearances: 62

Total Premier League Clean Sheets: 18

2025/26 - Appearances: 37 | Clean Sheets: 10

After leaving Liverpool last summer for more playing time, Caoimhín Kelleher has proved his worth at the highest club level since his switch to Brentford. Under manager and fellow countryman Keith Andrews, Kelleher excelled in a team that hugely overperformed last season, finishing 9th in a year many tipped them for the drop. Played the most minutes of any Irish player in the Premier League last season. One of the first names on both Ireland's and Brentford’s team sheets.

Nathan Collins

Age: 25

Team: Brentford

International Caps: 40

International Goals: 3

Total Premier League Appearances: 150

Total Premier League Goals: 6

2025/26 - Appearances: 35 | Goals: 1

Nathan Collins is another one of Keith Andrews' Irish regulars in his Brentford team. His form just after Christmas came under some scrutiny and was dropped, but the centre-back showed great resilience in working his way back into the starting XI.

As club captain, Collins led his team to a very lofty finish in the league last season, while regularly wearing the armband in a memorable year for the Ireland national team too. The Leixlip man is set to play another huge part in Brentford's efforts this upcoming season.

Eiran Cashin

Age: 24

Team: Brighton & Hove Albion

International Caps: 0

Total Premier League Appearances: 2

Total Premier League Goals: 0

2025/26 - Appearances: 29 | Goals: 1

Born in Nottinghamshire, Eiran Cashin is eligible to play for Ireland due to his grandmother who was born in Leitrim. He has represented Ireland at under 18 and under 21 level but has struggled getting topflight first team football.

After making the 2023/24 League One Team of the Year and 144 appearances for Derby County, Cashin made a move to Brighton & Hove Albion in January 2025. Last season, after just two Premier League appearances beforehand, Cashin was on loan at EFL Championship clubs Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers. He is currently with Brighton for pre-season.

Evan Ferguson

Age: 21

Team: Brighton & Hove Albion

International Caps: 26

International Goals: 8

Total Premier League Appearances: 68

Total Premier League Goals: 13

2025/26 Appearances: 16 | Goals: 3

As one of Ireland's most talented young players, Evan Ferguson has suffered some difficulties since bursting onto the scene in the 2022/23 season. After 13 goals across his Premier League career to date with Brighton and West Ham, including one hat trick, persistent injury problems and dips in form saw Ferguson loaned out last year to Roma. Similar issues reared their ugly head there too though, on top of some public criticism by Roma boss Gian Piero Gasperini.

After three goals in the first half of the season, Ferguson was not available for the second half of the campaign due to an ankle problem. He recently underwent a successful surgery.

Mark Travers

Age: 27

Team: Everton

International Caps: 6

Total Premier League Appearances: 24

Total Premier League Clean Sheets: 6

2025/26 - Appearances: 0

Having been used sparingly but effectively in the 2024/25 season for Bournemouth, Mark Travers made a move to Everton last summer. Unfortunately, he has not made a single Premier League appearance since then, being kept on the bench by England's number one Jordan Pickford.

Jake O'Brien

Age: 25

Team: Everton

International Caps: 17

International Goals: 0

Total Premier League Appearances: 57

Total Premier League Goals: 3

2025/26 - Appearances: 37 | Goals: 1

Jake O'Brien has fully settled into this Everton team after becoming a key player last season. O'Brien impressed David Moyes and missed only one game of 38. Standing at 6 feet 6 inches tall he has become a secret weapon at right back for the Toffees, helped at club and country by veteran Seamus Coleman, whose departure could even tighten O'Brien's grip on the jersey.

John Egan

Age: 33

Team: Hull City

International Caps: 38

International Goals: 3

Total Premier League Appearances: 73

Total Premier League Goals: 2

2025/26 - Appearances: 45 | Goals: 3

John Egan moved from Burnley to Hull City on an 18-month contract on 3 February 2025. After making a huge 42 appearances and featuring in all three play-off games in the EFL Championship last year, Hull were promoted to the Premier League and Egan triggered an appearance-based contract extension which will keep him at the club until 2027.

With no new signings at centre-back so far for Hull, it seems we could be seeing Egan a lot this season.

Dara O'Shea

Age: 27

Team: Ipswich Town FC

International Caps: 45

International Goals: 0

Total Premier League Appearances: 96

Total Premier League Goals: 3

2025/26 - Appearances: 46 | Goals: 1

One of four Irish at Ipswich, last season Dara O'Shea was as reliable as reliable gets. He was joint top for minutes in the EFL Championship after completing every game, without receiving a single card in the process. Although seeing his team sign two centre-backs so far this window in Issa Diop and Cédric Kipré, the Ipswich captain will hope to continue that form this season too.

Jack Taylor

Age: 28

Team: Ipswich Town FC

International Caps: 11

International Goals: 0

Total Premier League Appearances: 32

Total Premier League Goals: 1

2025/26 - Appearances: 39 | Goals: 2 | Assists: 4

Jack Taylor was another regular in the promoted Ipswich Town squad last season. With 39 games under his belt, Taylor kept up his high work rate and aggression in midfield, finishing the season with two goals, four assists and nine yellow cards.

Kasey McAteer

Age: 24

Team: Ipswich Town FC

International Caps: 8

International Goals: 1

Total Premier League Appearances: 19

Total Premier League Goals: 1

2025/26

Appearances: 28 | Goals: 3 | Assists: 1

Although McAteer made 28 appearances last season, there was no game where he played the full 90 minutes. His longest run of appearances was through six straight games, which were the final six matches of the season, scoring two goals in that period.

Chiedozie Ogbene

Age: 29

Team: Ipswich Town FC

International Caps: 35

International Goals: 5

Total Premier League Appearances: 35

Total Premier League Goals: 4

2025/26 - Appearances: 13 | Goals: 1

Last season, after making just 2 appearances for Ipswich, Chiedozie Ogbene made a loan move to Sheffield United. He hit the ground running, playing in 10 consecutive matches for the Blades, before a hamstring injury and limits on loan players ended that run.

He returned to the matchday squad two and a half months later and went on to appear only three times after that. He is currently linked with a move to Derby County, where he could link up with Ireland teammate Sammie Szmodics, which would keep both players in the Championship this season.

Alex Murphy

Age: 22

Team: Newcastle United

International Caps: 0

International Goals: 0

Total Premier League Appearances: 4

Total Premier League Goals: 0

2025/26 - Appearances: 2 | Goals: 0

Alex Murphy has made four appearances in the Premier League so far in his career, all off the bench. The full-back has represented Ireland at under-18, under-19 and under-21 level and was called up to the senior Ireland squad for recent friendlies against Qatar and Canada.

Alan Browne

Age: 31

Team: Sunderland

International Caps: 39

International Goals: 5

Total Premier League Appearances: 0

Total Premier League Goals: 0

2025/26

Appearances: 41 | Goals: 4 | Assists: 3

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