The Wonderkid Files: Naj Razi - the Irish winger wanted by Chelsea, Arsenal & Real Madrid

It’s been a minute since the Republic of Ireland produced a seriously exciting crop of youngsters – but the Emerald Isle is now starting to generate genuine talent once more, with the likes of Evan Ferguson and Gavin Bazunu among the members of the new generation to get playing time in the Premier League. But perhaps the most exciting young player of the lot is still plying his trade in his home country, although that doesn’t seem likely to be the case for long.

Najemedine Razi – Naj, to his friends – is a 17-year-old forward who plays for Shamrock Rovers (the club that developed Ferguson) and the Irish Under-17 side, but his stock is rising at a rapid rate and several of the biggest clubs in Europe have recently been linked to his signature, including Arsenal, Chelsea and even Real and Atlético Madrid. His future looks very bright indeed.

A right-footed winger who’s comfortable on either flank, the first thing you notice when watching him is his dribbling skill – he moves the ball from one foot to the other in the blink of an eye, and is blessed with the poise and technique to take it away from opposing defenders with incredible speed. His highlight reels are full of moments when he leaves his man for dead or even prostrate on the floor with a couple of quick touches.

He backs that control of the ball up with a lightning change of pace. His ability to accelerate from a standing start is hugely impressive and that combination of speed and trickery allows him to create space when very little seems to be available. He seems to switch from receiving the ball in an innocuous area to manoeuvring into the danger zone in an instant, usually leaving his marker trailing. His late runs into the box have also become a trademark, and it was one of those runs that allowed him to score the only goal against Hungary in the 2023 European Under-17 Championship and helped Ireland to progress to the quarter-finals.

And he’s more than useful when he gets himself into those dangerous areas, too – he’s an excellent crosser, capable of getting balls into the box with both feet. His ground passing is still a little unrefined, but he clearly has excellent vision and the eye for high-difficulty balls that mark out the best wide playmakers. He’s also excellent operating on both flanks, and is happy drifting into the middle to find room to operate. Marking him must be a nightmare.

Apart from passing, he still needs to work on his decision-making. He’s a decent finisher with some nice goals to his name – he has three in ten appearances for Ireland’s Under-17s – but has a habit of taking shots on from tricky angles when a ball across the box would be better, and he tends to look for direct balls rather than settling for short passes in the channels. All of that is perfectly understandable for a teenager who’s only just breaking into senior football, having made his Shamrock debut in July, but as time goes by he’ll need to learn when to go for goal or for the Hollywood ball and when to check back and recycle possession instead.

As for his future, he will have his pick of top clubs at which to develop further. He isn’t ready to push for first-team football at a top-tier side yet, but if he goes to a club where he can get the best possible coaching and the chance to develop with minutes at a different level – either on loan or with a Spanish side’s B team, for instance, then he could go a very long way indeed so long as he adds an understanding of the game to his immense natural skillset.

He still needs to get that decision right, of course. There’s no word yet on where he sees his own future, or on whether he would prefer to play in England or Spain next – not that it would be any surprise if there weren’t plenty of other clubs elsewhere that became keen on adding him to their youth ranks. But if he picks the right place to develop, he could well become a particularly exciting member of a new generation of Irish players who could finally turn their national side back into contenders again. The next decade or so looks very bright for Irish football, and for Razi in particular.

More from The Wonderkid Files

► Rayan Cherki

► El Bilal Touré

► Alejo Véliz

► Murillo

► Carlos Baleba

► Valentín Barco

► Jamie Bynoe-Gittens

► Sávio

► Assan Ouédraogo

► Leny Yoro