Republic of Ireland hero Troy Parrott could leave AZ Alkmaar in January amid a flurry of Premier League clubs. He could be exactly what Everton, Leeds United or West Ham need to survive.
Reports have linked Parrott with the Premier League trio following his international heroics which saw Ireland qualify for the 2026 World Cup play-offs.
Troy Parrott: So what’s his week like?
Scored all 5 of Ireland’s goals in 2 World Cup qualifiers Brace vs. Portugal kept their hopes of making the play-offs alive Hat-trick in Hungary clinched a dramatic 3-2 win and a play-off spot This man is a national hero, but Ireland haven’t even qualified yet!
Parrott has been in action for AZ this season, scoring 13 goals in 14 games in all competitions, including six in seven Eredivisie games.
He scored five goals against Portugal and Hungary and carried that form into the international break, earning him the attention of Premier League clubs heading into January.
“Of course there is interest in him, but at the moment we are only receiving calls asking about his status. But it could become interesting soon,” Fabrizio Romano said.
Leeds could make a move in January after he was caught offside, with Everton and Crystal Palace also interested, while Football Insider claim West Ham have been added to their squad.
Football Insider correspondent Mick Brown explained: “A number of Premier League clubs are keeping an eye on Troy Parrott, not just because he scored a hat-trick in Ireland’s big win, but because he has been playing at a high level for the club more regularly this season.”
“When someone is playing at a high level and scoring goals regularly, these clubs have to watch them and send scouts to go and see them.
“We’ve been talking about a lot of clubs in the Premier League needing a striker. This player is playing in Europe, he looks like he’s at the top of his game, he’s scoring goals for club and country, so it would be foolish not to take notice. Especially playing in the Dutch league, I know that most, if not all, clubs in England are paying attention to what’s going on over there.”
“Well, I’d be very surprised if they didn’t know how he played.”
Damn. I’m doing it. 🦜 pic.twitter.com/lMidtjZwnT
— Troy Parrott International Airport 🦜 (@DublinAirport) November 16, 2025
Parrott could become Leeds’ Raphinha in relegation battle
Leeds currently sit 16th in the Premier League and are certain to be in the middle of a relegation battle for the second half of this season.
Looking at surrounding clubs at the bottom of the table, Leeds have something that some of their rivals lack – an attacking X-factor.
They had it with Rafinha from 2020 to 2022, and that was enough to keep them afloat. Leeds couldn’t survive without him.
It would be almost impossible for Los Blancos to find players of that caliber, and while their rivals don’t have players of that caliber, they do have players who could make more of a difference.
Wolves have striker Jorgen Strand Larsen who is valued at £60m. West Ham have Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen. Brentford have, well, a long throw-in from Michael Cayode. Nottingham Forest have Morgan Gibbs-White. Perhaps Fulham lack that, but their team is comfortably strong and Kevin has potential. Finally, Burnley are also in the market for someone of Raphinha’s influence, but there are three relegation spots and Leeds appear destined to occupy one unless they improve in January.
Signing Parrott could be the weapon this team needs. They are in need of a new centre-forward and Parrott should be their man.
West Ham may already have a game-changing attacker in Bowen, but Niklas Furkruk is not that guy and with him expected to leave in January, they are in need of natural talent in midfield.
Last December we called him ‘West Ham’s all-time prolific striker with two goals in 30 appearances’. He has three in 27. It’s annoying.
Regardless, Leeds and West Ham would be extremely foolish to ignore the possibility of signing Parrott for a reported £26 million, which could be the reason to keep them in the division.
Meanwhile, Everton have two underachieving strikers in Beto and Tierno Barry. They need someone who knows where the back of the net is, FFS.
Could the Spurs re-sign Troy Parrott?
The 23-year-old came through Tottenham’s youth ranks but never established himself, having loan spells at Millwall, Ipswich, MK Dons, Preston and Excelsior before joining AZ for €4 million.
Ben Jacobs said it was “unlikely” he would return to north London.
“A lot of people are also asking me about Tottenham Hotspur, but it’s unlikely that I’ll go back to Spurs,” Jacobs said.
“That has been ruled out to some degree by all parties. There is no buy-back clause as far as Tottenham is concerned, but they have a 20 per cent offer.”
