Scottish clubs have been told there are rough diamonds to be found in the League of Ireland, amid a raft of top Irish talent heading for UK football.
Sligo Rovers assistant boss John Russell has watched promising striker Johnny Kelly depart for Celtic while defender John Mahon has joined St Johnstone.
He's also kept a close eye on other Irish players heading across the water. Attacking midfielder Ross Tierney has joined Motherwell from Bohemian and centre-back Dan O'Reilly has linked up with Hamilton in the Championship.
Dundee have also had a look at that market and Celtic signed Liam Scales from Shamrock Rovers earlier in the season. At St Mirren, Buddies boss Jim Goodwin calls upon former Dundalk man Jamie McGrath as his star player.
Russell says the League of Ireland's ability to hand young players opportunities at senior level is a big reason why the rest of Europe is watching on.
He said: "The League Of Ireland is getting younger and younger and it's a good platform for youngsters to get picked up by bigger clubs in Europe.
"When you have a talent like Johnny, there's always the risk of him being picked up. I think it was inevitable.
"From a selfish point of view we would have liked to have kept him for another year, but the chance for him to go to Celtic now is great.
"Johnny's a big prospect. He came into us during our pre-season last year when he was still at school. He exceeded expectations and netted five or six goals in pre-season.
"He took flight and did really well. To be at Celtic 12 months later is a dream come true for him, his family and the people of Sligo."
Tierney featured in Europe for Bohemian prior to joining Motherwell and Dundalk were involved in 2020's Europa League group stages.
Shamrock Rovers meanwhile faced European giants AC Milan in 2020, and Russell believes players like Motherwell's new recruit are being picked up because of Euro involvement along with senior exposure.
Sligo's assistant said: "I was surprised over the years that more clubs in the UK and Scotland weren't picking up more players. There is some serious talent here.
"Other leagues have probably looked down upon the League of Ireland and thought it wasn't as good as it is. Irish clubs doing so well in Europe have probably caught people's attention.
"Dundalk qualified for the group stages of the Europa League. Shamrock Rovers have come close. It's getting more and more professional.
"Ross Tierney played a few games for Bohemian in the Europa Conference League. You can really judge a player there.
"He's got over 50 games under his belt, so for clubs like Motherwell, it's easier to track these players. The league is an opportunity for clubs to pick up young players playing first team football."
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