Troy Parrott will see out the season at AZ Alkmaar after the Eredivisie side rebuffed an approach for the Ireland striker from runaway league leaders PSV Eindhoven.
Parrott’s prolific scoring streak – bagging his 26th for club and country on Saturday – made transfer interest inevitable. Fulham were among the potential suitors eager to bring the 23-year-old back to England but Parrott is content to remain in the Netherlands, for personal as well as professional reasons.
PSV, whose Champions League run ended last week, attempted to profit from that situation by lodging an enquiry as Monday evening’s deadline day loomed but the club five places and 24 points behind them stood firm.
Elsewhere from an Irish perspective, John Egan is also staying put. Hull City were braced to receive bids for the veteran defender, reportedly from West Ham United, but manager Sergej Jakirovic was relieved nothing materalised. “There are no bids yet from these clubs, so I’m calm,” he said at Monday lunchtime. “I want him to stay, of course, so because of this, I’m avoiding him!”
Johnny Kenny, like Parrott and Egan, was part of the last Ireland squad in November but unlike his two teammates, he packed his bags. Celtic’s interim manager Martin O’Neill allowed the Sligo native to leave on loan to League One outfit Bolton Wanderers, where Donegal native Fergal Harkin is director of football.
Andrew Moran was also on the move but his transfer was permanent. The classy attacking midfielder was loaned out by Brighton and Hove Albion three times after his first-team debut, to Stoke City, Blackburn Rovers and, most recently, Los Angeles before they allowed him depart for good. Preston North End landed the 22-year-old on a three-and-a-half-year deal, with an option to extend for a further year, for a fee of around €1.5m.
Preston manager Paul Heckingbottom said: “Andy is someone we’ve been speaking to for a bit in the window. We’re delighted to have got another one who is our player, a young player, who has competed in the Championship and is a full international.
“He’s a good age, so it’s a really good signing, not only for now for the club, but what we want to do going forward as well.”
At home, Mipo Odubeko appeared to be on his way to Cercle Brugge after Shelbourne accepted a bid but the deal was cancelled by the Belgium club at 5pm. It’s understood the change came about after a player they’d hunted earlier in the window eventually decided to sign.
Shels, however, did hang onto Harry Wood. They rejected a €500,000 bid for the flying winger from a League One club, believed to be Luton Town.
Sligo Rovers captain Will Fitzgerald is a target for Dutch second tier outfit Roda JC but will need to increase their initial upfront bid of €30,000 to appease his current employers. The Dutch closes 24 hours later on Tuesday.
