THE FIVE-STAR TREATMENT

Running the rule over some of the brightest young things in football who look ready to make the breakthrough

- BY GARRY DOYLE

THERE is a certain moment in sport when promise turns to expectation, and expectation turns to inevitability.

In football, that shift is often subtle: a late point, a goal at the right time a moment when a player stops being “one to watch” and starts being ‘one to expect.”

In 2026, a new wave of talent is poised to make that transition. Among them are five names already lighting up their counties, each carrying the confidence of underage success and the quiet, persuasive authority of someone who delivers when it matters.

YOU all know his older brothers — Cian, who has made his mark with the Dublin hurlers, and Con, a footballer whose brilliance has been the benchmark for almost a decade.

Niall (left) was called into the Dublin panel last year by Dessie Farrell but had little opportunity to show what he could do.

This preseason, under Ger Brennan, that changed. As he showed with Louth, Brennan is prepared to give youth its fling.

Over 130 players were scouted in preseason; O'Callaghan was one who made an impression.

Against Kildare last weekend he scored 0-1, but the tally only hints at his contribution.

It was the way he probed, the subtle movements between defenders, the passes threaded where none should exist.

He creates space not by pushing defenders back but by pulling them into zones of his choosing.

He moves like a chess player, reading angles, knowing where the support will arrive.

The ball finds him; he finds the scoreboard.