Real Betis have delivered a clear one-word response to Tottenham fans wondering whether they would take Troy Parrott back, after the striker's latest wonder goal for the Republic of Ireland.
The Spurs academy graduate has impressed since leaving north London permanently in 2024, enjoying a prolific spell in the Netherlands with AZ Alkmaar before joining Real Betis in a £17.1m transfer over the summer. He scored the winning goal against Real Madrid in LaLiga and on his Champions League debut against Lille in back-to-back matches earlier this month.
The 24-year-old also continues to shine for Ireland, having scored the goals that sent his country through to the World Cup play-offs last year - a double against Portugal and a hat-trick to beat Hungary.
Another magical moment
Parrott added to his growing reputation on Thursday night, scoring both goals - including an outstanding individual effort that his manager called “magical” - in Ireland's 2-2 Nations League draw with Austria in Dublin.
“I haven't seen my team score a goal like this. It was absolutely brilliant, individual brilliance, and I want to see it again,” Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson said after the match. “But yeah, he [Parrott] has been absolutely fantastic for us the last one or two years. He is flying at the moment.”
Hallgrimsson added: “There are not many players who can do what he did, you will probably look at this goal again and again.”
Parrott has now scored nine goals in his last six competitive matches for Ireland, notching 14 times in 40 senior caps in total.
Betis reply 'no'
His form has led many Spurs fans to question whether they made a mistake in letting him leave for a fee of just £6.7m in 2024, particularly given their continued struggles in front of goal under Roberto De Zerbi this season and failure to sign an out-and-out striker amid a lavish summer spend in excess of £300m.
Parrott first joined Tottenham from Irish club Belvedere as a teenager in 2017, failing to score in four senior appearances as he was sent on multiple loan spells in the EFL at Millwall, Ipswich, MK Dons and Preston, plus in the Netherlands with Excelsior, where he caught the eye of Alkmaar.
Betis have now left Tottenham supporters in no doubt that they have no plans to cash in on the player any time soon. Replying to a tweet from Tottenham-based X account 'The Spurs Web' that read: 'Would you take Troy Parrott back at Tottenham?', alongside footage of his latest Ireland wonder goal, the LaLiga outfit quote-tweeted the message and replied simply: “No”.
