Darragh Burns has been hailed as the “Irish Messi” by MK Dons fans - after he scored twice and produced an incredible assist on his debut for the English side.
Burns recently made the move from St Patrick’s Athletic to the League One outfit.
And while Friday’s 6-0 win against Norwich City’s Under-23s was played behind closed doors, Burns’ performance had fans purring.
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The 19-year-old was joined in the starting-11 by fellow new signing Dawson Devoy, who this week completed his transfer from Bohemians, while ex-Bohemians defender Warren O'Hora was introduced on the hour.
Burns’ first goal on 22 minutes was described as a “tap-in at the back-post” on MK Dons social media channels, although it was noted that his pace made the finish an easy one.
As for his second, six minutes into the second-half, the Meath native’s “tricky footwork” saw him beat a defender, before striking powerfully past the goalkeeper.
Burns then set up fellow Ireland Under-21 international Conor Grant for the fourth goal.
“Conor Grant's lovely turn and finish boosts our lead to four, but Burns' pass into the number ten was incredible,” was the verdict on the MK Dons Twitter account.
Fans were quick to hail the teenager, with one saying: “this lads gonna be unreal to watch”.
Another raved: “Polish off the ballon d'Or (there’s a) new Messi in the city, the Irish Messi”.
There were plenty more messages of delight from Dons fans…
https://twitter.com/Ollie_Charnock/status/1547943658606850049?s=20&t=WJPWhpGrG7dAVRFoS1o4cA
https://twitter.com/Ethan_MK728/status/1547943522442981383?s=20&t=WJPWhpGrG7dAVRFoS1o4cA
And St Pat’s supporters were quick to weigh in as well on the impact of their former player, with Kevin Creagh saying: “This lad is going straight to the top. We love to see it”.
“His sell-on fee is gonna build us a new stadium, maybe a new training ground as well,” said another.
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