The Ireland striker has lit up La Liga with goals and assists, including winners against Real Madrid and, in the Champions League, Lille.
Troy Parrott of Real Betis Balompie celebrates his winner against Lille OSC
Troy Parrott of Real Betis Balompie celebrates his winner against Lille OSC
View Image
Troy Parrott has won the acclaim of former Real Madrid and England striker Michael Owen because of his flying start at Real Betis.
The ex-England star has been hugely impressed by how the Ireland striker has hit the ground running in La Liga.
Parrott marked his home debut by scoring the winner against Owen’s former club - and he followed that up four days later with another deciding goal in the Champions League against Lille.
The Boys in Green star has quickly become a fan favourite at Betis - and he has two more opportunities to impress ahead of next week’s return to international duty.
The 24-year-old will be the star name when Heimir Hallgrímsson names his squad this morning for the four-game UEFA Nations League window.
Ireland will face Kosovo in Pristina next Thursday, before games against Israel in Debrecen, at home to Austria and Israel again in Serbia.
Before that, Betis are at home to Getafe this evening and away to Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday.
Owen believes Parrott’s early goals for Betis will serve him well as he continues to settle into life in Spain.
“When you move to a club it’s your big concern; you want to make a good first impression, because that first impression sticks,” said Owen, who has more recently been helping players navigate the Irish casino market and discover the best online casinos at Casino.org Ireland , which he represents as brand ambassador.
“When I moved, I started scoring goals at Madrid quite quickly. At Newcastle, the same. At Manchester United it was the third game, I scored that goal in the 97th minute against City.
“That first impression can carry you if you have a little drought or you pick up an injury or whatever, so it’s always good to make that strong first impression.
“That’s what you are always keen on doing, and he has done that. If you can keep that going, then it develops into something else. But at least he has announced himself and it’s great to see.”
Parrott was rested for Monday’s 2-1 win away to Villarreal, but he is expected to come back into Manuel Pellegrini’s starting-11 for Thursday night’s game at home to Getafe.
Pellegrini has opted to rotate his side with the Villarreal game kicking off a hectic period of three games in six days before the international break - with the Getafe and Deportivo games still to come.
Owen reckons Parrott has been primed for the challenges he would face in Spain thanks to his three years in the Netherlands, something the England legend did not have under his belt when he moved from Liverpool to Real Madrid.
“There are challenges,” he said. “If you’ve watched my documentary you will see there are challenges and they are not always on the playing side. It can be family or language or all the rest of it.
“Troy has obviously had a taste of moving abroad, so that helps. He is going to Spain less cold than I was when I moved; more rounded and more experienced in his career.
“There are a lot of pitfalls when you go abroad, it’s not always plain sailing. But he seems to be absolutely fine with it and enjoying it and lapping it up, and doing particularly well.
“We’ve spoken about goalscorers before, and Troy Parrott in particular, and goalscoring is a transferable skill. It doesn’t necessarily matter what level you are playing at, some players are just born to score goals.
“The signs are there that it will transfer into one of the biggest leagues in the world.
“It would be amazing if he could be prolific in La Liga. We’ll wait and see. But he has done it the hard way. He has come up and it’s not like he has been playing for all the fashionable teams.
“He has been scoring goals when it’s not easy to do so. So long may that continue.
“He has made a bold decision to go and play in a new league, a new country, and you’ve got two sets of eyes - one from locals and one from everybody back at home - and of course he’s a hero back at home, so he’s carrying that pride and pressure as well.”
Parrott’s physical style, according to Owen, will continue to give La Liga defenders plenty of headaches.
“Seeing someone in his position outstrengthening and outmuscling opponents and playing a physical game would be quite unique to that country and league,” he said.
“And it can pose a lot of problems. Defenders simply won’t be used to playing against forwards like him.”
Meanwhile, Hallgrímsson will name his squad with Nathan Collins (injured) and Seamus Coleman (without a club) giving the Boys in Green boss a big headache.
He needs as many experienced players as possible with the Israel games - and the tensions around those fixtures - providing a challenge like none other.
Click here to sign up to our sport newsletter, bringing you the top stories and biggest headlines from Ireland and beyond.