Shane Duffy’s recent move to Fulham from Brighton could benefit Duffy himself and Stephen Kenny’s Republic of Ireland.
After a blistering start to last season’s Premier League, Duffy looked on track to be one of the first names on Brighton’s team sheet.
Yet this didn’t materialize with Duffy making only eighteen appearances for the Seagulls last season and clocking in only one thousand four hundred and forty-three minutes for Graham Potter’s side.
However, it was announced on Friday that Duffy had signed for Fulham on a season-long loan. Duffy then went on to make his debut for the London club in a 2-2 draw with Liverpool coming on as a substitute for Boddy Reid.
Speaking on The Football Show on Saturday, Dan McDonnell and Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson discussed this transfer, what it could mean for Duffy and Irish football, and whether Duffy would get regular playing time.
“I would say he will get semi-regular playing time,” said Lawrenson. “They may even play with a three!”
“The thing is about Shane Duffy is that you know what he gives you, you don’t ask him to do anything that he can’t do. He will head it and kick it and hold his position. I think it is quite a clever signing, to be honest, assuming you get him up to speed fitness-wise.”
“When a player was thirty-one twenty years ago, you were finishing. They are all getting to thirty-four, thirty-five and still playing. If you had gone to the chairman saying I want to sign this lad, and he’s thirty-two, twenty years ago, they would say no chance, lad, but it doesn’t happen that way anymore.”
The Irish Independent’s Dan McDonell weighed in on the topic of Duffy’s recent move to south London.
“Listening to Graham Potter speaking about Duffy, he was happy to have him around the squad, but he couldn’t guarantee him anything,” said McDonnell. “The language would suggest that where Duffy is going, he is being guaranteed that. He is in the last year of his contract at Brighton, so he is effectively gone from Brighton.”
“It is probably not a typical Fulham signing that you would see in your head. When Roy Hodgson was there, they did have a certain degree of steel and some characters like that. Watching him today, you can see where he could potentially slot in.”
“The option of being at the centre of a back three is not out of the question. Duffy playing regular football at that level is something Stephen Kenny could do with.”
Duffy and Fulham will look to kick on from their impressive 2-2 draw with Liverpool as they travel to Molineux to face Wolves on the 13th of August.
Football on Off The Ball brought to you by Sky. All the football you love in one place across Sky Sports, BT Sport & Premier Sports.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
