Recently, Victor Ozhianvuna has been conspicuous by his absence from the Shamrock Rovers matchday squad.
The 16-year-old was not on the bench for Rovers’ recent Uefa Conference League qualifiers, the very environment that convinced Tottenham Hotspur to pay St Patrick’s Athletic an initial fee of €1.9 million for Mason Melia last February.
Ozhianvuna’s last sighting was his starting debut for the Hoops in the FAI Cup tie against Wexford on July 18th. Rovers won 4-0, he played 90 minutes off the left and scored a nonchalant volley.
No sign of him since, as Rovers outclassed Ballkani of Kosovo and beat Portuguese side Santa Clara last week ahead of Thursday’s second-leg playoff at Tallaght Stadium.
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Turns out, Rovers and Arsenal were nearing an agreement to break the transfer record paid to a League of Ireland club, six months after St Pat’s and Tottenham had set it.
Now that Ozhianvuna has passed a medical in London, with a four-and-a half-year contract and €2 million transfer fee agreed in principle, Rovers manager Stephen Bradley can increase his minutes.
The clubs have been in close contact for several years with Rovers’ sporting director Stephen McPhail and Arsenal head of recruitment James Ellis discussing how best to develop a boy of Russian and Nigerian parentage over the next 17 months, before he officially moves in January 2027.
Brexit law prohibits an Irish player from joining a UK club until they turn 18. Ozhianvuna hits that milestone on January 10th, 2027. Melia is a year further down the track so he will join Spurs in January 2026 having made enormous strides in the St Pat’s first team both technically and physically.
Bradley might unleash Ozhianvuna as soon as Thursday night against Santa Clara.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is willing to play 15-year-olds like Ethan Nwaneri in 2022 and Max Dowman against Leeds United last Saturday at the Emirates. And the Gunners have wanted the boy from Kiltipper in Tallaght since his Rovers under-14 side beat them in the Hale End Cup.
But Ozhianvuna needs more time to develop athletically. He looked the part last February when Bradley introduced him to men’s football in the season opening defeat to Bohs at the Aviva Stadium before handing him a European debut against Molde of Norway.
Over the past six months, both Michael Noonan and Melia have proved they can cope with being targeted by uncompromising centre halves.
“As the pitches get better, then you can play Victor,” said Bradley last month. “Because of the type he is, he’s a dribbler, he likes to get at people. If you play him on bogs or bobbly pitches, it’s not his type.”
Rovers needed to get the deal done. As much as St Pat’s general manager Anthony Delaney negotiated Melia’s sale to Spurs, McPhail has been central to agreeing terms with Arsenal for Ozhianvuna.
League of Ireland executives currently in the process of selling teenagers for their market value to English or European clubs were put on notice by Cathal O’Sullivan’s recent, season-ending ACL injury.
Now 18, and soon to be out of contract, Cork City were already facing the possibility of O’Sullivan leaving in the January transfer window for free, having previously lost 16-year-old striker David Dunne to Monaco for around €100,000 in compensation.
The importance of having people like Delaney or McPhail engaged in negotiations no longer needs to be emphasised. It is the difference between a low six-figure compensation and a seven-figure fee with lucrative add-ons.
Like Melia for St Pat’s, Ozhianvuna is expected to earn another €2 million for Rovers if Arsenal sell him on at some stage. Alternatively, appearances for the club and international caps will be baked into the deal.
And now Rovers can start to really develop their prodigious talent.
“He can play anywhere,” Bradley said previously. “I’ve seen him play as a 6, 10, and even up front. He’s a bit of a throwback in how he plays fearlessly.”
Noonan, having just turned 17, is the next Irish talent seeking a move to England. In the meantime, he is expected to join Ozhianvuna in Colin O’Brien’s Republic of Ireland under-17 squad competing at the World Cup in November.
If Rovers release them, they will rub shoulders with Finn Sherlock, who left Shelbourne for the Hoffenheim academy in Germany, and Jaden Umeh, who decided his career was better served at the Benfica academy over Cork City.
Melia, Noonan and now Ozhianvuna have decided to stick with the League of Ireland until they turn 18. The game here is better for their presence.
