
Irish winger Mikey Johnston on brink of historic move to Brazilian giants
With the proximity and similar sporting culture, Irish footballers have always assimilated well into British football, but in recent years that's begun to change.
However with the current Brexit rules making it more difficult for Irish players to move to Britain at a young age, we've started to see more move across Europe. Mikey Johnston of Republic of Ireland Pic: Ben McShane/Sportsfile
Some noteworthy examples are the likes of Troy Parrott in The Netherlands with AZ Alkmaar, Matt Doherty's brief spell at Atletico Madrid and Gavin Bazunu in Belgium at Standard Liège last season.
We've even seen Irishmen take managerial jobs in Europe like Robbie Keane in Hungary. However it's even rarer to see an Irish player in South America, but that could be about to change. We've even seen Irishmen take managerial jobs in Europe like Robbie Keane in Hungary. However it's even rarer to see an Irish player in South America, but that could be about to change. Pic: Stuart Leggett/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Mikey Johnston is a tricky winger who has 15 caps with the Republic of Ireland National team. Born in Glasgow, Johnston came up through the Celtic academy and chose to declare his allegiance with Ireland back in 2023.
His skills and exciting play made him an instant favourite among fans and after struggling to find regular game time at Celtic, Johnston made the move to England to play for West Bromwich Albion in the Championship in 2024 after he made his Ireland debut.
He too became a fan favourite at The Hawthorns and has bagged 10 goals in just over 60 games for the Baggies before one of the most sensational transfer rumours in Irish football history popped up over the weekend.
Per @LewisCox_star Ireland International Mikey Johnson looks to be closing on a move to Flamengo! 🤯The Brazilain Giants look set to seal a deal around £5m
Flamingo were recently knocked out of the Club World Cup in the Round of the 16 stage 2-4 against Bayern pic.twitter.com/82ifzTI7sr
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