Ipswich Town and Millwall FC must feel same shock at Troy Parrott exploits | OneFootball

Troy Parrott is in the form of his life, and after barren spells at Ipswich and Millwall, they'll be very surprised

Troy Parrott has hit headlines over the past few days after his heroics in helping the Republic of Ireland secure a play-off spot for a chance to play in the World Cup for only the third time in their history, and the first time since 2002.

For EFL fans, this is a massive shock, as the 23-year-old was infamous for having poor loan spells in the Championship and League One and failing to get into the senior squad at Tottenham Hotspur during his time in England.

But one look at his stats since he swapped London for Holland shows that this international break, where he scored all five of his country's goals in wins over Portugal and Hungary, isn't just a freak couple of performances.

The Irishman already has 13 goals in all competitions this season, and this has come after seasons where he's netted 20 and 17 times; initially at Excelsior and then at his current club, AZ Alkmaar.

Parrott has clearly found a home in the Netherlands, and he's in the form of his life. But fans of both Ipswich Town and Millwall, especially, will be scratching their heads, wondering how this goalscoring knack wasn't exhibited at their clubs.

Troy Parrott's failed first two loan spells at Millwall and Ipswich Town

Parrott came through the youth teams in his native side, Belvedere, in Dublin, and he was in high demand as a teenager from clubs such as Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham for his services as and when he'd make the move to England.

In the end, he chose the latter, and at Spurs, he dominated in their U18s squad, scorintg 15 in 12 U18 Premier League games, and nine in nine UEFA Youth League games.

Evidently, he was ready for senior football, and Tottenham chose to loan the then-18-year-old out to the Championship with Millwall for the 2020/21 campaign.

Parrott's time at The Den was doomed from the off, as he was immediately sidelined following an ankle injury he sustained on his debut against Burnley, which kept him out for two months. Even when he came back, he was unable to make an impact.

After failing to score in 11 Championship appearances, Tottenham recalled him and sent him to League One, this time with Ipswich Town.

Unfortunately, the move to Portman Road didn't exactly yield a massive performance improvement. There, he was able to score his first senior club goals in wins against Plymouth Argyle and Fleetwood Town, but those two goals were the few highlights in yet another disappointing spell.

Overall, Parrott scored just twice in 32 appearances in all competitions across the 2020/21 campaign, and he returned to Tottenham no closer to the first team than when he left.

In fact, the Irishman never actually played for Spurs following that, with loan spells at MK Dons and Preston North End failing to show much of an improvement, either. Parrott did enjoy relatively prolific form in League One with MK Dons, but upon returning to the Championship with the Lilywhites, he lost his goalscoring touch once more.

It wasn't until his final loan away from Tottenham at Excelsior that he finally started to come into his own.

Troy Parrott has hit goal-scoring form in the Eredivisie

Parrott would net 17 times in 32 games in all competitions in his first season in Dutch football in the 2023/24 campaign, including two hat-tricks in the relegation play-offs as he tried to help Excelsior remain in the Eredivisie.

In the end, he couldn't keep them up, losing the play-off final 7-6 on aggregate against NAC Breda, and despite his goalscoring knack being on show in that run, Tottenham were still uninterested in integrating him back into their squad.

AZ Alkmaar spent €8 million to bring him back to the Eredivisie, and he hasn't looked back from there.

A goal every other game in 28 league games helped his new side to a fifth-placed finish in the league last season, and so far this year, six goals in seven have Alkmaar third.

That's alongside seven goals in five games to help his side get through the qualifying phases of the UEFA Conference League. Domestically and continentally, he's in some form, and he's been able to sustain that for several years now.

Simply put, the brace against Portugal and the hat-trick against Hungary weren't a fluke couple of games. Parrott is emerging as one of the more exciting forwards in Europe, something that just couldn't seem to happen for him whilst at Tottenham, or any of his loan clubs during his spell in England.