Has there ever been a prospect hyped up quite as much as David Clifford?
The Fossa man terrorised minor defences for the last couple of years and has already amassed a crazy highlight reel despite not even being a senior footballer yet.
Clifford has netted a cool 10-68 in 12 minor championship games over the past two years, not a bad return and is sure to be called up to the Kerry senior team in 2018.
Initially, Clifford started to make headlines back in 2016 when he starred in the Hogan Cup.
David Clifford is having a once-in-a-lifetime game. 2-5 for the Kerry man as St. Brendan's win the Hogan Cup 💪👊 pic.twitter.com/6UfFuHZyJA
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) April 2, 2016
“A once-in-a-lifetime” game is how we described it back then, we were wrong. It’s now a standard performance for Clifford and there are expectations for him to bring Kerry back to the top.
But, because of his dangerously good talent, there are murmurs that the 18-year-old will move to Australia to compete in the AFL.
David Clifford, an 18-year-old Gaelic footballer, will come onto the radar of several AFL clubs. https://t.co/xWVZo23xA7
— AFL (@AFL) September 17, 2017
It’d be hard to begrudge Clifford for moving, being a professional sportsperson wouldn’t be the worst life and one man that was in a similar position to Clifford was Conor McKenna.
The Tyrone man was speaking at the Eirgrid sponsorship announcement of the Irish international rules team at the Australian Embassy in Dublin and wasn’t shy to give his opinions on Clifford:
“I haven’t heard much about him but he is unbelievable, I watched him in the final and he’s a very good player,” McKenna said.
“I’m sure he’d (adapt quickly) he’s unbelievable.
“I’d say to any young fella if you got the opportunity, like I said I’d go and if I didn’t like it I’d come back after a year.
“It’s an opportunity that I said if I didn’t take it I’d regret it for the rest of my life so it’s been great so far.” the Essendon player said.
Paul Geaney previously spoke about Clifford and how important he could be for Kerry going forward:
“It’s out of our hands as players and it’s going to be David’s decision to make and I hope that he stays at home. I think he can achieve more at home, what we’re looking at now is Dublin have achieved a three-in-a-row and we’re under pressure down in Kerry and he can help to contribute and be the main man going forward,” the Kerryman said.
“He can achieve more by staying at home and he’ll be fine career-wise, people at home will look after him so hopefully.”
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