Crying out for players that can do that sort of thing no harm to have a few coming through!

https://twitter.com/OfficialBHAFC/status/1600823427627032578?t=gEZg8cr1-cWCZQNwwXz2lw&s=19" rel="nofollow - https://twitter.com/OfficialBHAFC/status/1600823427627032578?t=gEZg8cr1-cWCZQNwwXz2lw&s=19

Unreal few days. Badly needed

Tough for Moran to get a touch in this game now - Brighton are slowing it all down, and lads running into space with the ball and waiting until they're tackled to "pass", so Moran who is their most central forward player is being ignored.

But nice that he's on the field with a world cup winner.

Moran is on the verge of a breakthrough and it’s hardly even registered due to Ferguson but also due to the fact it’s happening regularly now! 

It’s great to see this kid is very talented don’t sleep on him!

Twelfth Irish player in this season's Premier League

https://twitter.com/irish_abroad/status/1610594098679009280" rel="nofollow - https://twitter.com/irish_abroad/status/1610594098679009280

One of the best players at underage in England u18 since moving over from Bray. Was top of the goals and assists charts there last year. United wanted him. Classy baller and hope to god he reaches his full potential. Maybe not physically ready so will take time. But he is a great watch and quick thinking street baller type.

https://www.brightonandhovealbion.com/news/3042096/moran-double-as-under-21s-return-to-winning-ways" rel="nofollow - https://www.brightonandhovealbion.com/news/3042096/moran-double-as-under-21s-return-to-winning-ways

Moran would be a good candidate for a loan move, ideally to L1, because he's not going to see many senior minutes at Brighton for the foreseeable.

Maybe a loan to Netherlands or Belgium would suit him. 

Just something to get him senior competitive football. 

With European football a major runner for Brighton next year it would be huge for the likes of him more opportunities for game time. He’s already got on the pitch and is regularly making the bench for them. 

Lad is fine where he is. 

Thats assuming they don't sign any other attacking players over the summer to compete with the lad...which they will 

Good to see after him making the bench at the weekend for the senior team. There were 3 other Irish lads in that Brighton team today, Killian Cahill in nets, CB Leigh Kavanagh and Jamie Mullins. Tom Hill came off the bench for LFC - I know he was at an Ireland U20 training camp, but I'm not sure anything ever came of it, he may have gone to the Welsh set up since? 

Anyway 2-2 draw in the end, but Moran does look close to some involvement with the senior team before the end of the season. In a way they are probably doing too well, if they were comfortably mid-table I have no doubt he would get a few chances, but it looks like they will be battling for European qualification right until the end which might limit his opportunities. It will be interesting to see what happens with him next season, will they send him out on loan or keep him around.

Seems to already be on the fringes. From Moran's pov, Brighton getting Conference League would probably be best for him. Between that and the Carabao, there would likely be enough game time on offer in the first part of the season to stay at Brighton and try and establish himself as a first team squad player. Hopefully he can add to his 11 PL minutes before the season is out, but the fact they are challenging strongly for European places may work against him.

Between Lallana retiring and McAllister potentially getting a big money transfer I would wager on both happening in the next two years. 

European football and a packed schedule will hopefully see him get minutes if he stays on. Wonder would a loan to Union St Guilloise or Vitesse both of whom are used quite a bit by Brighton for loan deals by viable. Bloom has a share in Union. 

Likewise if Mark O’Mahony can keep progressing and he’s started well I wonder will a potential first team squad place be his next year. Interested to see what happens in pre season for him.

He’s very much on the fringes as it is. Found this from when he made is debut. 

Noteworthy De Zerbi was very quick to pipe up with “he has to improve in pyshical terms” when asked about him. Clearly taking their time with the lad but he’s now basically a first team squad member.

https://twitter.com/bbcsussexsport/status/1610535374320812033?s=46&t=-TA17a1N4n3Rnnq4IlfqEQ" rel="nofollow - https://twitter.com/bbcsussexsport/status/1610535374320812033?s=46&t=-TA17a1N4n3Rnnq4IlfqEQ

O'Mahony didnt exactly shine for the U19s recently. Jamie Mullins seems to have been doing well and is a little older. Furlong's loan at Motherwell is going very well and there are a few other young lads there also Leigh Kavanagh (CB), Killian Cahill (GK) and Matty Everitt (RW). Conference League qualification might create opportunities for some.

As posted above there's a good chance he does a stint with Brighton's sister team in Belgium to get some first team experience. The long contract is encouraging but, as we saw with Connor Ronan, it doesn't necessarily mean he is about to make a first team breakthrough. It probably won't be a very high wage at this point so it will be pennies to Brighton in relative terms.

With Europe to deal with and selling McAllister he may well stay with Brighton and start picking up regular minutes as opposed to going out on loan.  

Gonna be fun he’s the potential creative midfielder we have been missing.

He's an interesting one alright, and he could go on to have a great career, but honestly he could as easily find himself playing for Morecambe in a few years like Dan Crowley. It's always hard to know with these light, tricky, ballplaying midfielder types, they have to be absolutely exceptional to make it at the top level and the fall off is usually particularly steep for the ones that don't. Gavin Kilkenny currently looking like another example.

I personally think Moran is a different level to Kilkenny whom I never really got the hype about, tidy neat passer, but lacks pace and physicality, his career trajectory hasnt really surprised me, although I did think he'd get game time at Charlton. I think at best he might make a decent living for himself in the Championship. It was clear to see he wasnt anything special at U21 level for Ireland where he rarely stood out.

Moran is still only 19 (2003 born) and making the bench for a top half PL side. His durability/strength might be an issue, he's also not the biggest, but it's plain to see he is a very classy footballer, great touch and vision. Dont think either we or Brighton need to rush him, but he is a much better prospect than Gavin ever was.

I fully agree that Moran looks a bigger talent than Kilkenny, but is he necessarily that far ahead of where Crowley was at the same age? Crowley was very highly rated as a teenager. Moran has played a small amount of Premier League football alright, but that's easier to do at Brighton than it would have been for Crowley at Arsenal.

Look, he could go on to be a massive player for us, but I'd say it's at least as likely at this point that he never wins any more than a small handful of caps. The one thing I will say is that him being with Brighton probably gives him the best chance to fulfill his potential, compared to most other English teams.

Like most on here I'd imagine, I havent seen loads of him, but the bits and pieces I have seen have been impressive. For me Crowley was more like a Henry-Francis type, might be eligible/interested, doing well at a top academy. Moran looks to be well in advance of that already. I personally think he should probably stay at Brighton for another season until he bulks up a bit more. He'll get chances particularly if they qualify for Conference League. There is no need to rush him. In any case Brighton seem to be good at this sort of thing, so I'm sure they'll get it right.

Look at James Furlong - 4 months older & just a CM taller than Moran. Loan has been very beneficial if the reports back from Motherwell & to be believed.

I have the age difference at 16 months Moran born Oct 2003 - Furlong born June 2022. Regardless it isnt height that concerns me, Moran is quite slight, I'm not sure a Championship loan would benefit him at this point. BHA could have as many as 8 Conference League games pre-Christmas plus Carabao Cup. He can then be loaned out in January (like Furlong) if he doesnt feature in BHAs first team plans for the rest of the season..

Didn't do Jack Grealish any harm in the championship and i'm sure there are plenty of other options outside of that league. They aren't made of glass. Harry Vaughan seems to be managing ok. Yeah you are right on the age. For me it depends on Euro qualification and the change in playing personnel at Brighton over the summer. If he can't assured of some gametime id be looking to go at the start of the season.

Interesting piece on Moran. Have said it recently but will say it again very exciting to see what plans Brighton have for Moran next season with European football secured. 

Opens up opportunities for the likes of him, Van Den Hecke and Ayari players consistently on the bench for Brighton without getting much gametime. 

Mac Allister leaving will open up things for him.

It's not easy though. He's competing with fellow teenagers, Enciso and Buonanotte, for minutes. Their ability to play wide is an advantage over Moran who is better centrally.

And then there's Peupion in the mix also. He had a very productive U21 campaign as well.

Indeed, it was a bit disappointing when Peupion got a run off the bench ahead of him recently. Now that EL is secured for Brighton, maybe he'll get minutes in one of their two remaining games.

Linked with a loan move to Stoke, effectively as a replacement for Smallbone. I'm not sure Stoke is the best place for a lightweight, technical midfielder as we saw with Kilkenny, but you never know how these loans are going to work out I suppose. This time last year Smallbone and Kilkenny would have been seen as much of a muchness in terms of their potential, a year on following loan moves to Stoke one is a senior international, the other couldn't get a game in League 1 the last few months.

Recall saying about Delap last year of all the clubs in the Championship alone before you began to mention the clubs across Europe he could have gone to he ended up at Stoke. Id echo your sentiments a bit here. 

Look Smallbone ended up doing okay under Neil and Moran would be seen as his replacement in terms of where they play on the pitch so at least that.  

Stoke are a big club, Neil could get a tune out of them next season if they get their recruitment right. A move there for Moran with a defined ready made role for him as the CAM wouldnt be the worst by any means.

Its true though - having said that there are a lot of big clubs down there in a similar position. Neil knows the division well and did pretty well in the second half of the season with them. Not sure how their finances are these days, but I dont see why a move to Stoke (where there is already a defined role for him) would be bad for Moran!

https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/fresh-development-shared-as-stoke-city-blackburn-battle-for-premier-league-player/" rel="nofollow - https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/fresh-development-shared-as-stoke-city-blackburn-battle-for-premier-league-player/

Not a huge amount in this that we didn't already know, but it definitely looks like he'll be playing Championship football one way or another coming season.

pateen wrote: Jesus he we have be u21 that's playing regular in the championship then that's win win for everybody

Yeah though, like I was saying in the Knight thread, we could have 4 or 5 U21 CMs in the Championship next season with Moran, Hodge, Phillips, Vaughan & possibly Henry-Francis.

Any rumours I have missed? 

Brighton are skipping the second round of the EFL cup this year because they're in Europe. So he won't play in that competition before the window closes.

Blackburn, Stoke & QPR all reportedly interested in loaning Moran.

Would think he should give Blackburn a miss as they already have Szmodics & Gilsenan.

Probably needs to play somewhere other than PL2 and the EFL Trophy to be fair. 

Will be very disappointed if he isn't out on loan before the end of the window. Scotland or League 1 would be fine if there's no Championship team in for him. Or Brighton's sister team in Belgium.

There is supposed interest from the Championship, any level lower than that would be a bit disappointing given his profile tbh. Still think they may want to keep him around until January for a bit of depth given Europa League and Carabao Cup commitments. No word on James Furlong either who is another you would hope gets a decent loan.

Id have no issue with him not going out on loan if he featured in pre season. It’s obviously not popular to criticise Brighton but I was disappointed he wasn’t featured in pre season suggested to me they didn’t have plans for him. 

He has no business playing U21 football again this year. Way too good for it and needs to kick on!! 

Second Moran goal, assisted by O'Mahony.

His numbers from last night's game are impressive:

Minutes played - 89

Touches - 64

Shots - 2

Shooting accuracy - 100%

Goals - 2 goals

Passing accuracy - 90%

Key passes - 1

Long balls - 3/3

Ground duels - 14/18 won

Aerial duels - 1/2 won

Dribbles - 5/6 completed

Was fouled - 3 times

Tackles - 6

Fouls committed - 1

Had a part to play in all 3 goals. Both goals were very well taken. 

Let’s hope he can follow Sarmiento and Buonanotte on loan now. really want to see him go to the Championship like those two. 

Seen a number of lads on Twitter mention USG in Belgium but they are in Europe with Brighton so would be illegal as far as I’m aware. 

Should be a good move for him hopefully. Gilsenan needs to get out on loan now.

If they're seeing him as a winger instead of a CAM, I'd be worried. That's the aul chestnut when it comes to number 10 type players. Can't accommodate you in the middle, so let's put you on the wing. I remember Jack Byrne got that a lot when teams would revert to more direct style. You stick them on the wing, and then everyone wonders why they're a bit sh!te  

I'm generally fairly sceptical about these number 10 type footballers and how effective they actually are in senior football - they usually need to be absolutely unbelievable at what they do for teams to justify finding a place for them instead of just going for another Jason Knight box to box type, but if there's one player of that type in the Irish setup that I think has a chance of making it, it's Moran.

Brighton do it very well. Enciso has played on the left and Buonatte has played on the right.

It's the same at City with Foden and Bernardo Silva playing wide.

Moran has played pretty much every attacking position since joining Brighton.

II think he means they see Gilsenan as a winger, not Moran.

Don’t get the impression any of these lads are undroppable for Blackburn every chance he can displace them from the starting 11 quite early.

Exciting to see how he does. 

Where you getting this information?

Szmodics has played a fair amount of football as a 2nd striker/no.9 as well, so I wouldn't expect he'll lose out in any case.

Really cant see Szmodics playing deeper, he needs space to run in to. I'd imagine Moran would/could be more effective deeper than Szmodics, although again, it's not really his game. Szmodics can certainly play wide off either flank though.

Yeah, I think they can both be accommodated in the same XI. Szmodics can play as a false 9, a 10 or off either flank. In any case I'm not sure Szmodics is getting capped any time soon having been seemingly overlooked for that training camp in May.

Why? He's playing well 

Moreso than the likes of Jamie McGrath and Jeff Hendrick anyway, who will no doubt be in future squads

Finn Azaz has more potential in the long term. Both should be getting called up really.

Can't rule out Szmodics, Kenny's unlikely to pick him but we could have a different manager by the end of the year who might bring him straight in, you just don't know.

Why would he be "unlikely to pick him" if he's the only Irish manager to ever f*cking pick him in the first place? Completely illogical thinking.