Troy Parrott’s Redemption in Alkmaar
Name: Troy Parrott
Club: AZ Alkmaar
Nationality: Irish
Position: Forward
Preferred Foot: Right
Height: 6’1”
Age: 22
It has been a sensational start to life in the Netherlands for Troy Parrott. No player has racked up more Expected Goals (7.18) in the Eredivisie than him, whilst only Twente midfielder Sem Steijn (8) has scored more goals than Parrott (7) — it should be noted that Steijn has scored two penalties in contrast to Parrott’s one. Only Steijn and PSV striker Luuk de Jong (10) have racked up more goal contributions, whilst only Steijn (1.6) and his teammate Sam Lammers (1.5) are averaging more shots on target per 90.
Sem Steijn: The Creative Dynamo Fuelling Twente’s Stellart Start
Born in Dublin, Parrott made his way through the youth ranks at Belvedere before leaving the Republic of Ireland and heading to England in July 2017. He would sign his first professional contract at Tottenham Hotspur on February 4, 2019 — the day of his 17th birthday — and just seven months later, he made his first-team debut in a EFL Cup match vs. Colchester United, which saw the fourth-tier outfit pull off a shock win on penalties.
After making his debut under Mauricio Pochettino, Parrott’s next three appearances would come under the tutelage of José Mourinho. Having lasted 66 minutes vs. Colchester before being replaced by Christian Eriksen, his next three matches would see him replace Dele Alli in the 85th minute of a 5-0 thrashing vs. Burnley, replace Ben Davies in the 91st minute of a 3-2 loss to Wolves, and replace Alli in the 96th minute of a 1-1 draw and penalty shootout defeat to Norwich City in the FA Cup.
Little did he know it, but that loss to Norwich would be the last appearance of his Tottenham career. After racking up 17 goals and 3 assists in 15 appearances for Tottenham’s U-18s, Parrott certainly wasn’t short of suitors, but it was Millwall who acquired his services on loan. He registered one assist in 14 appearances before being recalled and dropping down a division in January 2021, joining Ipswich Town.
Parrott fared slightly better at Portman Road, opening the scoring within four minutes of their 1-0 win vs. Plymouth Argyle and grabbing his first-ever senior goal, as well as closing out the League One season with a goal in a 3-1 win vs. Fleetwood Town. All in all, Parrott delivered 2 goals in 18 appearances for the Tractor Boys, before returning to League One and joining Milton Keynes Dons.
The Irish striker managed to string together some consistency in Buckinghamshire, providing 10 goals and 7 assists in 47 appearances as MK Dons finished third in the table, only to lose to Wycombe Wanderers in the playoff semifinals. This was enough to earn him a contract extension through 2025, with Tottenham subsequently loaning him out to Championship side Preston North End, where he found himself below Ched Evans, Emil Riis Jakobsen and Tom Cannon in the pecking order.
Having mustered just 4 goals in 34 appearances in Deepdale, Parrott eschewed another year in England’s lower leagues and instead decided to take his talents to the Eredivisie for the 2023/24 season. Parrott excelled in Excelsior’s attack with 17 goals and 5 assists in 32 appearances, including two hat-tricks in the relegation playoffs, finishing as their top scorer in all competitions as well as league play (10). And whilst he was unable to keep them afloat in the top-flight, his performances in Rotterdam left a lasting impression.
With his contract set to expire in 2025, Tottenham elected to cash in and sell him to AZ Alkmaar for £6.7 million, with Parrott putting pen to paper on a five-year deal on July 13. Since then, he’s taken to Dutch football like a duck to water, opening his account for the club on September 14. Parrott put his side ahead 2-1 in the 23rd minute before proceeding to score in the 48th, 50th and 56th minute in a 9-1 thrashing of SC Heerenveen, becoming the first Irishman to score four goals in an Eredivisie match.
Over the next month, Parrott would score the winning penalty in a 3-2 win vs. Elfsborg in the UEFA Europa League and the opening goal in a 2-1 defeat to Utrecht. And whilst he was kept under wraps against his former club in a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham, Parrott quickly bounced back by providing a penalty goal and an assist in a 2-2 draw vs. Go Ahead Eagles as well as the opening goal in a 3-2 loss at Feyenoord, before assisting Rome Jayden Owusu-Oduro’s opening goal in a 3-1 win vs. Fenerbahçe.
Parrrott already has more goal contributions (10) in his first 16 appearances with AZ than he had in 66 appearances with Preston, Millwall, and Ipswich, and as he approaches his 23rd birthday, it’s clear to see that he is finally making the adaptation to the senior level of Dutch football. Not only is he proving more and more clinical in front of goal, but he’s also helping to facilitate AZ’s build-up play, dropping deep and quickly progressing the ball from the middle third to the final third.
His positional awareness and powerful physique has enabled him to seamlessly adapt to AZ’s style of play under Belgian manager Maarten Martens, ranking in the 90th percentile for forwards when it comes to Non-Penalty Expected Goals as well as the 89th for Progressive Carries. However, there are still various areas where he must improve in order to fulfill his lofty potential.
Out of his 32 shots in the Eredivisie, 27 have come from inside the box, showcasing his willingness to advance into the box and snuff out a dangerous opportunity. However, only half of those shots are finding the target. He’s completing 12.9 passes per game with a 73% accuracy rate, whilst he’s also proven squeaky clean in the disciplinary front: since getting sent off on April 12 in a 4-0 win vs. Volendam, Parrott has not incurred a single booking.
Parrott has quickly taken the reins and replaced Vangelis Pavlidis as AZ Alkmaar’s attacking talisman, and he still has plenty of room for improvement: only Brian Brobbey (8) has missed as many big chances in the Eredivisie as Parrott. However, the decision to leave Tottenham (who inserted a 20% sell-on clause) has certainly paid dividends for the 22-year-old forward, who has been able to showcase his talents not just in the Netherlands, but also in intercontinental competition.
Since making his senior debut in November 2019, Parrott has racked up 5 goals in 25 appearances for the Republic of Ireland, and whilst he’s generally been second-choice to the likes of Evan Ferguson and Sammie Szmodics in attack, he did manage to start in attack in a 2-0 loss to Greece in the UEFA Nations League on October 13. If he can keep building on his promising form in Alkmaar, Ireland’s new manager Heimir Hallgrímsson may have no other choice but to give him a more prominent role in attack in 2025.
By: Ogenyi Paul / @MisterOgenyi
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / ANP – Getty Images