How the Premier League's Irish have fared at the season's halfway point

With a large chunk of the Premier League clubs having reached or surpassed the 19-game mark, it's accurate enough to say that the half-time whistle has blown on the 2022-23 campaign.

But how have the Irish contingent fared thus far?

Last season was something of a nadir, with just 14 Irish players featuring in the English top flight, cumulatively playing less than 10,000 minutes. Only Seamus Coleman appeared in more than 20 games.

The trend of Irish players garnering reduced game-time had already become undeniable way back in 2013 and as The Independent's chief football writer Miguel Delaney said on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast towards the end of last season, Premier League clubs have increasingly minimised their scouting footprint in Ireland due to factors like the Brexit ruling governing the transfer of under-18s.

Be that as it may, there are some green shoots amid the continuous downward trend and Brighton crops up regularly when it comes to the positives.

GOALS

Evan Ferguson's career is still in its infancy but the 18-year-old striker has shown a cutting edge over the last month.

Having made his Premier League debut for Brighton last February with a 22-minute cameo against Burnley, he has hit the accelerator pedal recently, with two goals in his first - and most recent - four games of the league campaign, finding the net against leaders Arsenal and a beleaguered Everton.

In fact that short burst has already propelled the former Bohemians player to the top of the charts among Irish scorers in the Premier League this season.

The only other Irish scorer this season has been Matt Doherty against Crystal Palace earlier in January.

For comparison, last season saw eight Irish players score at least one goal with defenders Doherty and Nathan