Victor Ozhianvuna could play farewell game against Dundalk before €2m Arsenal move

There is a slim chance of Victor Ozhianvuna making one final appearance for Shamrock Rovers against Dundalk on Friday, ahead of his €2 million move to Arsenal in January.

Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley is hopeful that Ozhianvuna’s last act as a Hoop can happen before the champions are presented the Premier Division trophy at Oriel Park.

The Tallaght teenager, born to Russian and Nigerian parents, has been nursing a back injury since May.

“Yeah, it would be really nice,” said Bradley last Thursday. “[Last] week went well with his running. Hopefully we’ll have a chat with everyone over the weekend or early next week.”

“Everyone” includes the Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta, academy director Pascal de Maesschalck, the Gunners under-21 coach David Horseman and possibly even Mikel Arteta.

Also, every decision made by Rovers during the 17-year-old’s five-month rehabilitation process went through the Arsenal medical team at the Premier League champions training base in London Colney.

“If we are being honest, Arsenal and ourselves have been overcautious with this injury,” Bradley admitted. “But I think it was the right approach to take.

“He is so mature. A lot of kids in the last year would not have dealt with it in the right way. But you look at his body, how it has changed, and in terms of everything, he has got better, quicker, from body weight loss, body fat, more explosive, higher jump.

“When you have injuries you are supposed to come back in a better place and that is exactly what he has done.”

Bradley did confirm that Ozhianvuna will miss next month’s Under-17 World Cup in Qatar when the Republic of Ireland face Brazil, Costa Rica and Tanzania in the group stage.

“I don’t see that being a possibility,” Bradley said. “He has been raring to play. He has been asking every second week like, ‘Can I play? Can I play?’ We just said ‘no.’

“We’re just holding him back. We have a responsibility to do that and protect him as well for the bigger picture, for the longer term.

“The selfish thing would have been to push Arsenal and push Victor to play, obviously because he improves us. But I think we have to protect his long-term potential. As frustrating as it was for him, it was most definitely the right call to make.”

Bradley does wonder what might have been had Ozhianvuna stayed fit this season, especially for the club’s disappointing European campaign.

Rovers chief executive Robbie Hedderman subsequently convinced Bradley that failure to reach the Uefa Conference League for a third straight winter is a blessing in disguise as the players and staff need a break.

As it stands, Ozhianvuna made 19 appearance for Rovers this year, from the President’s Cup in February until he pulled up against Bohemians on May 25th.

“Victor is a special talent. He really is. I’m a little gutted because he was at the level I knew he could get to because I have watched him since he was a baby here.

“The first year we threw him in it was about him getting a feel for it, getting him comfortable. This year you could really see what we all knew, and I was hoping I was seeing it over the European campaign because he would have given us a different dimension.

“Even our fans who had not seen him throughout the years in our academy, it would have been nice to really see what we’ve seen. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see that in full flow for a prolonged period of time.”

Bradley largely played the teenager in midfield while noting that the Arsenal coaches have several options when it comes to developing his game.

“I think Victor can do a bit of anything. If we play 4-3-3 he can do either winger, he can do the 10, he has played the six, he played right wing-back last year at the [under 17] World Cup.

“That shows his athletic attributes. But he also has the quality, the know how, the game intelligence.

“I am not sure to be honest what position he will end up at. I really like him in the midfield three because he can influence the game and break lines like not many players can.

“Look at where the game is going with PSG and Barcelona at the elite, elite level midfielders do that on a whim. Victor does that. I like him in that position.

“But if I see him playing left wing next year, I would not be surprised.”

Bradley stopped short of allowing a comparison to PSG’s Portuguese superstar Vitinha.

“It is hard at this age to put that on him. You are talking about the elites. I’m just saying, the way the game is going, PSG are the top team in Europe and their three midfielders are incredible at [breaking lines]. Pedri against them for Barcelona [last week] is incredible at doing that as well.

“Having midfielders who can beat people and break lines has become invaluable and Victor has that.”

Ozhianvuna can already see an early career path mapped out by his future Ireland under-21 team-mates Rory Finneran and Mason Melia.

Heimir Hallgrímsson was so impressed by Finneran last summer that he capped the Newcastle United midfielder against Grenada. Currently on loan to Notts County in League One, Finneran has been a revelation although Melia is struggling with a thigh injury since Tottenham Hotspur loaned him to Lincoln City in the EFL Championship.

Michael Noonan is also leaving Rovers for the Premier League in January, joining Nottingham Forest, but the 18-year-old striker will go down as a cautionary tale for the club that negotiated a record transfer fee for Ozhianvuna.

Despite luring Noonan from St Patrick’s Athletic to sign his first professional contract at 16, both clubs will reportedly receive the same €180,000 in training ground compensation from Forest.

“Haven’t even spoken to [Noonan] once about [the move],” said Bradley last week. “All we are focusing on is the league.”

In January, Rovers attempted to sell Noonan to German club Hoffenheim for €1.8 million but the player declined the opportunity to play in the Bundesliga.