'He has that Corkness in him. It's not arrogance' - The brilliance of Cathal O'Sullivan

The 42

7 days ago

AT THE END of his very first training session in charge of Cork City, Tim Clancy sidled over to teenager Cathal O'Sullivan and asked him where he wanted to be in 18 months' time, at which point he would be 18.
'England,' replied O'Sullivan, without missing a beat.
Six months later, Clancy asked him the same question and received the same, instant answer.
By England, O'Sullivan means the Premier League. That move looks likely to come to fruition this summer, with Crystal Palace among the top-flight English clubs interested.
'He can be whatever he wants', says O'Sullivan's team-mate Seani Maguire. 'He's one of the best young fellas I've probably played with, and that includes in England.'
O'Sullivan has been on a three-year professional deal with Cork City, but that expires at the end of this year. Had he been tied longer-term to the kind of deal St Pat's struck with Mason Melia, O'Sullivan's transfer fee would likely have exceeded €1 million.
City must therefore decide whether to lose him at the end of the season for nothing but a mandated compensation fee of approximately €290,000, or sell him this summer and negotiate a sell-on clause and performance-related add-ons.
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The latter is the likeliest to come to pass, though it would mean City will have to stave off relegation this season without a key attacking player, given O'Sullivan has played in all but 21 minutes of their last 13 games.
O'Sullivan has been playing off the right side of Cork's attack under new manager Ger Nash, but is viewed as being most effective in central areas, if not as a number 10, then as an attacking player drifting inside on to his left foot to create from the half-spaces.
O'Sullivan's raw talent is easily discerned, and was obvious to Cork City's academy when he first arrived, playing in an U13 team that featured Matthew Moore, now at German club Hoffenheim. He was rich in game intelligence: O'Sullivan knew when to carry the ball and when to pass, and knew the right time and weight to put on that pass.
He also had the innate intelligence to understand how to use his small frame. He effortlessly took the ball on the half-turn, knew how to angle himself to shield possession and then push away from pressure, and developed the kind of craft needed to help him beat his opponent. Watch how O'Sullivan will sometimes skip by his marker and then run under his arm, knowing the opponent then has only two options: let him go, or foul him with such blatant cynicism they are likely to be booked.
The City academy quickly realised their work with O'Sullivan was mainly about coaching off-ball work, as they were determined not to coach the natural talent out of him.
O'Sullivan in action against James Norris of Shelbourne in a recent Premier Division tie. Bryan Keane / INPHO Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
Modern academy dogma teaches players to take two to three touches and then pass, to the point their dribbling abilities can be hammered out of them. City academy head Liam Kearney had his own experience like this, signed by Nottingham Forest as a winger and then told to pass more often and dribble less.
O'Sullivan has continued to express himself at first-team level, as anyone who has take a trip to Turner's cross of late will attest.
'He just loves playing football,' says Kearney. 'When I look at Cathal, he has that Corkness in him. It's not arrogance, it's, 'I believe I am very good and I am here to show people that.''
But talent alone is never enough.
'You can see as clear as day how good he is on the ball, I think it's just his attitude towards everything', says Maguire. 'I think that's what teams in England will look for first.'
That attitude has already been tested. The O'Sullivan secret was long out by the time he was 16, and thus was subject of interest from clubs in England and across Europe. Then, in a training session with the Irish U16s, he leapt to attack a back post header and landed awkwardly on his knee, suffering a serious ACL injury.
A lonely, isolated rehabilitation followed, during which the overseas clamour to sign O'Sullivan was somewhat stalled. He recovered, however, with figures at the club remarking at the physical shape in which he returned. Consider his recovery as part of that above mantra. I believe I am very good and I am here to show people that.
He has some areas in which to improve, with seven goals and seven assists across 43 league games in both tiers for City a return with some room for improvement, though O'Sullivan is widely seen as a profile of player who will flourish in a team stocked with better players. And while Maguire is among those to attest to O'Sullivan's toughness, an elite-end Premier League academy will also have the staff and resources to do a little more work on his upper body strength and his explosiveness.
'He'll definitely play for Ireland, he's that good', says Maguire, 'and he'll definitely go and play at the highest level in football in England.'