As the new Major League Soccer season gets underway, after player strike action was averted, one Irishman is at the heart of operations for one of the teams.
Padraig Smith joined Colorado Rapids as sporting director in November, having previously worked with the FAI and UEFA.
And tonight on Off The Ball he admitted that Ireland and Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Kevin Doyle was very much on his team's radar.
"Kevin is a fantastic player and an even better person. He's somebody that we looked at for quite some time. The coaching staff spent a lot of time looking at him as well and it's well known at this point that Kevin came over for a visit. I think he liked what he saw there and he liked the idea of moving to the MLS," said Smith.
"But at the moment he is a Wolves player and they're in the chase for a playoff spot. He's played in three of the last four games so we have to make sure that we do all our due diligence."
Smith also spoke about his own route into US football.
PIC: @padraigsmith on Twitter
"I guess it all really started when I was with the FAI," he said, explaining that a meeting with then-Derby County commercial director set things in motion.
"So he contacted me last February and told me that they were looking to put in place a sporting director with a little bit more of an analytical viewpoint, rather than the more traditional professional footballer moving into that role. It went from that."
Smith explained that the club's owners want to improve areas such as player recruitment in a much more analytical way, and he also went to detail how transfer policy works in the MLS.
"We obviously try and build everything together, but there is no way I can influence anything with gaining the respect of the coaching staff," he said, admitting that last season was disappointing for Colorado and that Rapids will focus on young players and developing their own talent rather than spending big solely on older designated players from Europe in the Frank Lampard mould.
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