AZ Alkmaar expected to turn threefold profit on sale of Troy Parrott

It’s only mid-January but Troy Parrott and Evan Ferguson will never forget the 2025/26 season.

So far, they share 32 goals for clubs and country. Granted, Parrott has 24 of them after his hat-trick for AZ Alkmaar in the 6-0 dismantling of Ajax in the Dutch Cup on Wednesday ensured that the Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson had a worthwhile trip to the Netherlands.

The 23-year-old has been on a scoring spree for AZ and Ireland whereas Ferguson is temporarily trapped in a succession of false dawns, with goals for Roma and Ireland instantly followed by injuries.

The difference between their situations is visible; AZ play Parrott in his natural position, as a striker charged with finding pockets of space in the box, while Ferguson is continually forced to drop deep with his back to goal, where he’s at the mercy of uncompromising Serie A defenders.

The 21-year-old was beginning to find his groove in Italy, having netted three times for Ireland in four World Cup qualifiers, until Parma’s Niccolò Valenti cut him down on October 29th.

Parrott, having missed the September qualifiers with a knee issue, profited from Ferguson’s absence. And how. Five goals in three days saw Ireland beat Portugal in Dublin and Hungary in Budapest to flip a depressingly hopeless narrative around Irish football.

It also increased his market value as Alkmaar prepare for life after Parrott.

“AZ always have to sell players, or they cannot turn a profit,” explained Dutch journalist Jan Willem Spaans. “Troy Parrott is getting sold in January or the summer to whatever club pays the most money.

“They have already brought in another striker, Jizz Hornkamp, and there is a young Dutch lad, Mexx Meerdink, that many presumed would take Parrott’s place this season.”

AZ reportedly paid Tottenham Hotspur €8 million for Parrott in July 2024 after his 17 goals on loan to Excelsior Rotterdam wiped the memory of three gruelling years on loan to Millwall, Ipswich Town, MK Dons and Preston North End.

Last season he finished third in the Dutch scoring charts with 14 goals in the Eredivisie and 20 in all competitions.

“AZ can demand a lot for Parrott as they know that English clubs saw the World Cup qualifiers,” Spaans continued. “To be honest, season one was a little underwhelming. Eight million is one of the club’s biggest-ever signings so they wanted more. Now they are getting more than anyone expected.”

The expectations heaped on Ferguson since his debut for Bohemians as a 14-year-old against Chelsea in a preseason friendly have proved to be unrealistic. His hat-trick for Brighton against Newcastle United in September 2023 prompted Alan Shearer to compare him to Alan Shearer as the English media slapped a £100 million price tag on the teenager.

Injuries have slowed his progress to occasional flashes of brilliance since as far back as January 2023 when Liverpool’s Brazilian midfielder Fabinho caught him on the ankle, forcing him to leave the Amex Stadium on crutches.

If the glare of Italian media and the Giallorossi fan base were not so intense, and the ringing criticism Ferguson has received from Roma manager Gian Piero Gasperini was not so frequent, he could be seen to be adapting, albeit slowly, to his season-long loan.

After an outstanding debut against Bologna in August, Ferguson needed eight appearances to score his first goal in Serie A. He netted a brace at Celtic Park in December in the Europa League, despite the close attentions of Ireland team-mate Liam Scales, and he had two goals in three matches until the latest setback when Sassuolo defender Jay Idzes kneed him in the back.

Now, in the January transfer window, Ferguson’s future at Roma is under constant review, especially since French teenager Robinio Vaz was signed from Marseille and the Dutch international Donyell Malen is due on loan from Aston Villa.

Brighton, where he is contracted until June 2029, described a return to the Premier League this month as “very unlikely” as the Italian press nudge him towards Napoli to provide cover for Rasmus Højlund.

“Now they have signed two more strikers [Vaz and Malen], it is not a great look for Ferguson,” said James Horncastle, who writes on Italian football for The Athletic. “No sooner does he look like he is about to hit his stride than he has a game last weekend where he gets a knock and has to come off.

“Gasperini is pretty unforgiving of player injuries, no matter how bad it is.”

With a second loan in the same season unlikely, the immediate risk for Ferguson is being shelved by Roma until the summer.

[ Evan Ferguson’s place under threat as Roma move to bolster attacking optionsOpens in new window ]

“Leaving in January is really complicated,” Horncastle continued, “as within the agreement there is a loan fee and a promise to cover a percentage of his wages. It is not as easy as a return to sender. There would have to be a negotiation.

“For Roma, Ferguson’s agent [David Berber] or even Brighton, bringing another club to the table to take him or cover his wages is not an easy thing to do.”

Gasperini’s criticism of Ferguson, which included his performances at notoriously tough training sessions, suggest that the Irish man was not his preferred choice. Along with the muscular Ukrainian international Artem Dovbyk, the pair were apparently foisted upon the veteran coach by Roma sporting director Frederic Massara.

“Did Gasperini want Ferguson in the first place? He wanted a striker. I don’t think he was particularly picky about the kind of striker. He has always done well with a variety of different strikers,” said Horncastle.

“For someone who has got players like Mateo Retegui, Marco Borriello and Diego Milito close to being top scorers [in Serie A], it is really surprising to see him struggle to get any goals from Ferguson and Dovbyk.”

Six goals between them in 20 games was never going to cut it at Roma.

“What is clear, from what Gasperini says about him, is he thinks Ferguson is young, unproven and they need a more established player in the position. He is not against him being on the squad, he is against him being the go-to number nine,” added Horncastle.

“But he has always given young players a chance really, really early. The other night in the cup against Torino he brought on [a 16-year-old] Italian-Australian kid Antonio Arena, who scored – which, again, is not good for Ferguson.”

Robbie Keane spoke about the rite of passage Parrott and Ferguson are currently undergoing when the Ferencváros manager was asked about Parrott’s progress last year.

“You learn a lot more about yourself at a European club,” said Keane. “When I went to Italy at 19, 20 years of age, even in that short space of time I learned a lot in terms of how to play. As a young player you have to go on these journeys. Take a few loans. Take a few hits and then go to a club where you feel valued and are the main guy.”

For Parrott and Ferguson, neither AZ Alkmaar nor AS Roma is that club.

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