The inside story of Aidomo Emakhu&#8217;s rise and how Millwall signed him &#8211; including sending scouts to watch him train i

By John Kelly NAME the only current Millwall player to have scored in three different European competitions. You might be scratching your head thinking did you somehow miss when the Lions signed a European superstar. Or you’re checking Zian Flemming’s history on Wikipedia or Soccerbase. Flemming has in fact never even played in Europe, though 12 goals in successive seasons in the Dutch top flight is impressive. Andreas Voglsammer has two European goals, scored in two games in the Europa Conference League in 2021-22. The answer is Aidomo Emakhu. The Irish winger, who officially signed from Shamrock Rovers last January 1, netted the winner for the Hoops against FC Tueta in the Europa Conference League in August 2021. The following year the 19-year-old winger scored in the Champions League against Ludogorets and then against FC Shkupi in the Europa League. Emakhu also scored on his Ireland under-19 debut and won the Premier Division title with Dublin side Rovers, who former Millwall midfielder Eamon Dunphy ended his playing career with in 1978. Emakhu’s ambition was always to make it as a professional footballer, but i f it sounds like it’s all been plane sailing for the attacker, that isn’t the case. His first major setback was when he was not selected for the National League’s under-15 squad in Ireland. Soon after that, he was told by Damien Duff - who knows a thing or two about wing-play after winning the Premier League with Chelsea and earning 100 caps for Ireland - that he was too slight. Emakhu left Rovers to go back to schoolboy club Crumlin United. Emakhu then went to another senior club across Dublin, Shelbourne, where he scored two goals in an under-17 cup competition against Rovers. Rovers wanted him back, and Emakhu certainly wasn’t bitter after Duff’s assessment. In an interview with the42.ie , Emakhu said: “You learn that people are not saying things to you for the sake of it, they’re not criticising you to put you down. They [coaches and senior players] want to help and pass on that knowledge they have from their experience. “I’ve realised that what is being said, to take it in and learn from it and use it to make me better. Top professionals don’t just get made overnight, they take so much on board along the way.” Emakhu was offered a deal by Shels, but his heart was set on Rovers and breaking into their first team. He achieved that by making his Rovers debut as a 17-year-old in May 2021, in a Premier Division game against Derry City. His star continued to rise and more and more clubs, including in the Premier League and in Europe, became interested in taking a closer look, especially after those goals in European competitions. His desire and decision to re-join Rovers was paying off, with the club giving him the platform to showcase his talent. [caption id="attachment_115071" align="aligncenter" width="900"] The attacker scores from the spot against Hull City under-21s. Photo: Millwall FC[/caption] Millwall sent two scouts not only to watch Emakhu in games in Ireland but Rovers also agreed to allow them to observe him at the club’s training ground. It meant the Lions were able to get an insight into how he trained, how he carried himself, how he interacted with team-mates, coaches and staff, to build a profile of the player to send to the recruitment department. And the recruitment department were impressed with what they heard and with his technical and physical attributes. The scouts saw a dedicated youngster with serious determination but also a good-natured and respectful young man. The League of Ireland has improved markedly in recent years. Clubs are regularly achieving positive results in Europe to get through rounds. Attendances are up. The Ireland senior boss, Stephen Kenny, started his career coaching in the league before moving into the national set-up as manager of the under-21s and then taking over from Mick McCarthy in the top job in the country. But the aim for talented youngsters is to go to the UK or to a club on the continent. The potential financial rewards are clearly much, much greater and there is the chance to regularly play in front of 30,000-plus fans. The best players will naturally be snapped up by clubs in England and further abroad. Rovers have contributed significantly to the flow of players making those kinds of moves. Over the past few years, along with Emakhu, Sinclair Armstrong left Tallaght for Queens Park Rangers and has made regular starts this season; Gavin Bazunu was snapped up from Rovers by Manchester City before a £12million switch to Southampton last summer; and Kevin Zefi made the move to Inter Milan in 2021. Emakhu had lots of interest but, besides impressing the Millwall scouts, he was impressed with the vision the club had for him. Emakhu also saw that young players would be given a chance if they impressed. In the past three seasons, Danny McNamara, Billy Mitchell, Tyler Burey and Romain Esse have come through the youth teams and under-23s to establish themselves as first-team or match-day squad regulars. That appealed to Emakhu. As for Rovers, a source close to the deal said they were impressed with how Millwall conducted themselves during negotiations. Emakhu was on a long-term professional deal and, not to jump too far ahead, but if he makes an impact by playing and scoring regularly and his value goes into the millions, then Rovers would net a significant windfall if the Lions ever sold him. “We still have an interest in how he does and Millwall were good on that front,” the source said. Emakhu’s attitude also ticked an important box for the Lions. In that 42.ie interview, he explained his approach to his career. “The questions I ask myself all the time are: How do I make myself better? How can I improve? Finding these answers is my main focus,” Emakhu said. “And I’ve had so much help at Rovers. Robbie Keane has been in and doing some sessions with us, the little bits of advice he has given has sunk in, I think. How to set your body and feet for different types of finishes, preparing for the ball in different situations and gambling in certain areas.” Emakhu was already well-known in Ireland by the age of 12. He went to Manchester United for a trial but then he didn’t develop as quickly physically over the next few years and was in danger of “slipping through the net,” former Rovers Academy Director Shane Robinson told NewsAtDen , referring to Emakhu going back to Crumlin and then being picked up by Shels. But interest in him from abroad really picked up again when he broke into Rovers’ first team. How did Emakhu handle being scouted by several clubs? “It would be normal for boys. If boys in this country break into first teams at a young age it obviously does generate interest,” Robinson says. “And Aidomo is quite level-headed. He was going through his education at the time, he only did his Leaving Cert (the equivalent of the GCSEs in the UK), which would have been a big landmark education-wise, in Ireland last summer (2022). “He would be quite academic, to be fair to him, which is good, that ties into a lot of what we do. His school (Moyle Park College) were very flexible. I know he would have done after-school grinds to catch up if he had done a morning training session with us. The club would have helped him in terms of reimbursing him for extra grinds and everything else he needed to keep on top of his education. His school were brilliant, to be fair, they have a good history of having soccer players throughout the school. They understood where Aidomo was at and helped him any way they could which is a big plus when a boy has ambitions like that. So he kept on top of his studies, got a good Leaving Cert, and I think that sets most kids up here to pursue their education further on down the road.” Emakhu, at 19, was a relatively late mover to England compared to previous decades. Until fairly recently it was almost taken for granted that if you were playing in the League of Ireland at 18, 19, you had missed the boat for a chance of a professional career abroad. Duff, for example, went to Blackburn Rovers from schoolboy football in Dublin at the age of 17. His former Ireland strike partner, Robbie Keane, another Crumlin United alumni, was 15 when he signed for Wolverhampton Wanderers. There are plenty more examples, including ex-Lions striker Richie Sadlier who signed at The Den as a teenager straight from schoolboy side Belvedere. But that is changing. Evan Ferguson, for example, played for Bohemians’ senior team before moving to Brighton where he has become a first-team regular and last season became the club’s youngest-ever Premier League goal-scorer. [caption id="attachment_120205" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] The attacker in action against Fortuna Sittard. Photo: Millwall FC[/caption] In Emakhu’s case, Robinson says “he’s in a good place, traditionally like you said kids would have left at 15, 16 with no Leaving Cert and nothing to fall back on if football didn’t work for them. So he’s in a good place and it’s probably the right age to be moving away as opposed to 16. “A lot of the kids, their first step and ambition is to play for Shamrock Rovers or St Pat’s or Shels because that’s the most realistic target for them. If they can break into a professional team at a young age then they have a chance of having a career. That’s the way it’s worked out for Aidomo so far.” Robinson believes Emakhu’s slower physical development actually had some positive benefits. “He would have been a small 13-, 14-year-old. He developed later physically, only really in the last 18 months. At 12, 13, 14 he was probably smaller than everyone,” Robinson says. “It was probably a good thing because he had to learn how to use his body to protect the ball, more than his size. “He always would have been well-regarded by a number of [clubs abroad] but it was probably only when he broke into our first team that there was proper interest from English clubs which culminated in the summer [of 2022] when he scored in Europe. Probably everybody then in Ireland knew who he was.” Emakhu made his Millwall debut as an 87 th -minute substitute in the 1-1 draw against Championship leaders Burnley at The Den in February. He played on the left wing (though that wasn’t the intention ). Robinson outlines his strengths. “He’s very good one-v-one. He played a lot as a striker for us in the first team but played as a winger in the academy all along. It depends on the system being played but he can do both. He’s very good off either wing because he can use his left, he can use his right, he can go both ways. “He has played as a striker with a partner as well so he can be effective in either of those positions. When he gets on the ball he’s got a mix of being able to beat his opponent, play one-twos, get crosses in. He’s very good in wide areas.” One of Emakhu’s new team-mates and someone he will hope to regularly supply with chances, Tom Bradshaw, got a good first impression of the youngster. “He obviously got really unlucky to pick up that injury when he first signed. But he’s been really sharp in training since he’s come back,” Bradshaw told NewsAtDen . “He’s a pacey winger, he’s got good feet, he’s a great finisher as well. It was great to see him come for his debut. “There are only good things to come from Aidomo.” Bradshaw also feels Emakhu has the right character for the Lions. He said: “Definitely. At Millwall we’re quite lucky that we’ve got quite a lot of senior pros, experienced heads. It’s a dressing room full of character and the club only bring in the right characters. That’s very important, that you fit into the ethos of the club and that you suit the club.” Robinson believes Emakhu has made a good choice by opting for Millwall. “It looks like it could be the right fit for Aidomo,” Robinson says. “He made his debut [against the Clarets] which was nice to see because he had been progressing really well in Ireland and you wouldn’t like to see that stop. He was going really well here so it was good to see him make his debut so quick. I know he had a small injury that held him up a little bit but it was good to see him on the pitch. “He had a lot of clubs over and back watching him scoring in Europe at such a young age. He’s our youngest-ever goal-scorer in European competitions. The likes of that obviously does gather attention. “He seems to have picked wisely in terms of a club that has given him a quick pathway to first-team football. That’s important for him because if he went to a club and dropped down playing 23s, 19s or whatever, it probably would have been a bit of a backward step. He’s played at a high level, he obviously has a lot to learn and I’m sure he will learn a lot at Millwall as well. “Anyone that knows him from Shamrock Rovers or around the league here would be watching to see how he progresses because he was definitely one of the best young players in this country.” The improvement in the League of Ireland which means that youngsters can see a pathway from its first teams to the UK or Europe means that they have the chance to experience a senior dressing room containing older pros. Emakhu was a team-mate of current and former Ireland internationals Jack Byrne and Joey O’Brien as well as ex-Brighton midfielder Richie Towell. That made going into the Lions changing room an easier transition. “He is a very mature person,” Robinson continues. “Being in a dressing room as well of adults the last two years has helped him. He’s not walking into a dressing room that he doesn’t know how to act or behave or what’s right or what’s wrong. I think that’s important but he’s a humble young man and he works hard, he’s very dedicated to what he does. He won’t want for a lack of effort and work rate because he is very committed to what he does. “You could see that in the couple of years [in the senior squad], how he eats and lives and prepares. He obviously has natural ability. There are lots of guys that have natural ability but he also has a desire to want to get better and improve not just technically but physically as well. He has worked hard on developing his body and what he puts into his body. He’s in a very good place for a 19-year-old boy in terms of tactically, and physically, he’s very, very strong.” Robinson is proud of Rovers’ success in developing young talent. “We had another kid who left the academy for QPR at the same age, Sinclair Armstrong. He would be a similar type of kid in that when he went to QPR he would have had other options but, again, he’s played in the Championship this year,” Robinson says. “It’s a great sign for ourselves as well that we’ve had two or three [ex-] strikers who’ve played in the Championship this year. It’s good, it gives the boys here something to look up to that they can see the boys that have come through. It’s nice to see them play at a really good level [in the Championship] this year.” Robinson and lots of people in the League of Ireland, as well as supporters of Kenny’s national team, will be closely following Emakhu’s progress this season and beyond. Emakhu has already overcome an early setback at Millwall when he picked up an injury in training days after the move from Rovers was officially confirmed in January. Robinson thinks Emakhu’s attitude and work ethic will serve him well. “The injury came at a bad time for him because he’d gone over after a season here and he goes over there and picks up and injury and you think, well, that’s not good timing. But he’s a naturally fit boy and it was good to see him thrown into a big game, Burnley were flying,” Robinson says. “The manager [Gary Rowett] trusts him to put in the hard graft as well as everything else if he gets on the pitch. “He’s a level-headed boy and he’s had to work hard for what he has. As I said, when he was 12, 13, there were lots of clubs interested in him and then that drops off. But he’s kept working and he’s still moving up the ladder. “Hopefully he continues to do that over the next couple of years.” Image: Millwall FC

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