5 former Premier League players you had no idea moved to the League Of Ireland
The 2025 League Of Ireland season is underway, and it’s set to be a cracker as Damien Duff’s Shelbourne look to defend their crown.
Attendances are growing in the Irish top flight and so is the quality of the league, as evidenced by Shamrock Rovers taking a 1-0 lead into the second leg of their UEFA Conference League clash with Molde.
And there are some familiar faces in the League Of Ireland. Here are four former Premier League players (and one future Premier League star) playing their football across the Irish Sea in 2025.
Lys Mousset
This is the big one. Mousset’s move to Bohemians, the famously left-leaning club from Dublin’s Northside, has dominated the headlines this winter.
The French striker is arguably the most high-profile signing in League Of Ireland history. Back in 2019, Chris Wilder’s newly-promoted Sheffield United paid a club-record £10million to sign Mousset from Bournemouth.
After a handful of top-flight goals for Eddie Howe’s Cherries, he notched six in his debut season for Blades as they punched above their weight to finish ninth in their first season up.
Mousset’s career went off the rails amid their struggles in year two and subsequent years barely playing for Salernitana, Bochum and Nimes saw him drop off the footballing map. Still only 29, he’s turned up at Bohemians in a bid to get back on track.
He made his debut on Sunday for Bohs as they kicked off their 2024-25 campaign with a 1-0 victory over Shamrock Rovers, played out away from their usual home in front of a League Of Ireland record 33,208 spectators at Ireland’s national Aviva Stadium.
Shane Ferguson
Born and raised in Derry, Ferguson played Gaelic football as a youngster before turning his attention to football when he took on a scholarship to develop his skills in Newcastle United’s academy.
The winger broke through and made 23 Premier League appearances for the Magpies during the Alan Pardew era, but he found more regular opportunities as a Football League stalwart at Millwall and Rotherham.
Now 33 and winding down his career, the 50-cap Northern Ireland international returned home and sounds delighted.
“I’m 100 per cent looking forward to the challenge,” Ferguson said. “I’m really looking forward to the start of the season, I’m delighted to be back home and I just can’t wait for the season to get going.
“Getting a full pre-season behind me was one of the main reasons why I wanted to come home as well. Obviously now I can get a full pre-season under my belt and as I said I’m really looking forward to getting going.”
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Adam Matthews
‘Former Premier League player’ might be a bit of a stretch for Wales international Matthews, admittedly, given he made just one top-flight appearance for Sunderland in their 2015-16 ‘great escape’ campaign.
The Black Cats had signed the right-back from Celtic – where he’d won four successive league titles – for a £2million fee, but he suffered with injuries and wasn’t seen again after a brief 36-minute substitute cameo on the opening weekend.
Subsequent years saw him play in the Championship with Bristol City, League One back at parent club Sunderland and three years flitting between the two at Charlton Athletic.
Then he went off the beaten track to spend two years out in Cyprus with Omonia.
Now the 33-year-old has joined Shamrock Rovers, having played alongside their sporting director Stephen McPhail during his early days
“[Matthews] will bring really valuable experience and his ability on the pitch speaks for itself,” their long-serving manager Stephen Bradley said.
“He’s one we think can help the group go to another level.”
Greg Cunningham
Alright, not the most glamorous name, this one.
You might (not) remember Cunningham coming up through Man City’s academy and making a couple of Premier League appearances in the wild, early days following their takeover.
Cunningham later returned to play a handful more games in the top flight during Cardiff City’s short-lived stint under Neil Warnock in 2018-19, but the second and third tiers were more his level – Bristol City, Blackburn Rovers and two long stints at Preston North End.
Giovanni Trappatoni handed the defender his Republic of Ireland debut back in 2010 but only a further three senior caps followed.
After falling out of favour at Preston, he joined his hometown club Galway United in the summer of 2024 and is now gearing up for his first full League Of Ireland campaign.
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Mason Melia
Consider this one your bonus ball. Melia isn’t a former Premier League player, but rather a future Premier League star in the making.
The 17-year-old forward has just agreed to join Tottenham for a fee that could rise to €4million, which makes him the League Of Ireland’s all-time record sale.
Melia will spend the 2025 League Of Ireland campaign continuing his development at boyhood club St Patrick’s Athletic, working under former Republic of Ireland coach Stephen Kenny, before officially joining Spurs in January 2026.
One to watch for the season ahead.