Ireland under-21 star Festy Ebosele has joined the Derby County exodus to pen a five year deal with Serie A outfit Udinese.
The 19-year-old is the second Irishman in the door in Udine after the bianconeri splashed out in the region of €500,000 on James Abankwah from St Patrick’s Athletic.
And the pair will link up together in the summer as Ebosele makes the move at the end of his contract with Derby, who are in administration and facing the threat of liquidation.
The midlands club’s inability to offer a new contract to Ebosele, who was named in the under-21 squad to face Sweden later this month, opened the door for Udinese.
Enniscorthy native Ebosele came through the ranks with local club Moyne Rangers before joining the St Joseph’s Boys/Bray Wanderers academy and moving to Derby at 16.
He made his debut for Derby in a 2-0 FA Cup defeat to Chorley in January 2021 and quickly established himself as a regular in Wayne Rooney’s side.
The winger, who comfortable on both sides and equally adept at wing-back, has made 30 appearances in all competitions so far this season, scoring three goals.
He came up against Italian opposition for the Irish under-21s earlier this year as they were defeated 1-0 at home to Italy.
Ebosele was also part of Colin O’Brien’s under-17 squad when Ireland hosted the European Championships in 2019, playing all three games.
Speaking at the unveiling of the Republic of Ireland senior squad last week, Stephen Kenny said he’s very happy with Ebosele’s development so far.
"I'd have been happy for him to say at Derby to develop. Wayne Rooney has done a terrific job developing those young players,” said Kenny.
"I'm not against the fact he's going to Italy. If he's going to play regularly, great. I think the key thing is wherever he goes he gets the opportunity to play."
