As chatter around Troy Parrott lulls, everyone’s talking about Jack Moylan

Jack Moylan is “pound for pound the best Championship signing of the summer” – or at least that’s according to one Cardiff City supporter on social media, who then urged anyone who disagreed with him to go argue with a wall.He might have a point. Moylan can do little wrong at the moment and his goal in Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough was his third of the week – after scoring twice in Tuesday’s 5-1 demolition of Watford – and sixth in the league this season.All of that came on the back of a strong international window with Ireland, where the former Shelbourne player pressed home his claims for regular starting roles under Heimir Hallgrímsson, not just as a relative newcomer to squads. Pity for Cardiff that they seem incapable of profiting off his endeavours as they hover just above the relegation zone.“He knows the large part of the game he has to improve – and he will, because he has the mentality to do it,” said City’s Irish manager Brian Barry-Murphy. “He’s a very exciting player to watch because of how attack-minded he is, and we don’t want to take away any of that while adding to the parts of his game that he needs to improve.”READ MORETroy Parrott is the only Ireland international talked about more than Moylan right now, but even he is in the midst of a lull, with the hype machine dropping a gear or two having been in overdrive for the last two months. Another Galactico brought sharp focus to Parrott’s weekend work but, having slain Real Madrid himself with a winner off the bench in September, it was a watching brief at home on Saturday night when Lamine Yamal’s stunner set Barcelona on the way to victory.Parrott got on for the closing half-hour but his 4/10 player rating in Seville’s leading sports daily told the story of a night of little joy for anyone in Real Betis colours.“The 2-5 scoreline doesn’t reflect what the match was like,” growled veteran Betis manager Manuel Pellegrini afterwards. “The truth is, I thought the referee’s performance was deplorable, lacking any footballing sense.”[ Troy Parrott’s Real Betis no match for Barcelona as they hit five goals in SevilleOpens in new window ]Nathan Collins took a step in the right direction by warming Brentford’s bench throughout their 2-1 defeat to Liverpool, having been sidelined with a calf injury since the Sunderland game in early September. It ruled him out of Ireland’s recent Nations League games.His fellow Ireland defender James Abankwah was named as Udinese’s player of the month for September after good performances against Lazio, Inter Milan (when he scored at the San Siro) and Cagliari, although he was an unused sub in Sunday’s 3-0 home defeat to Lecce, who kept Dubliner Corrie Ndaba on the bench throughout.James Abankwah of Udinese Calcio celebrates after scoring against FC Internazionale in Milan on September 14th. Photograph: Claudio Villa/Getty Images Out of sight, out of mind, Josh Cullen is the forgotten man of the Irish squad, having been sidelined since December when he tore his ACL in Burnley’s scoreless draw with Everton. That ruled the midfielder out of Ireland’s World Cup playoff against the Czech Republic in March, the summer friendlies and the eventful Nations League window.But Cullen is ramping up his recovery and is expected to mark his return by lining out for Burnley’s under-21s when they travel to West Ham this Friday. In his absence, the Clarets have struggled this season following relegation from the Premier League and remain in the bottom three of the Championship.If the comeback goes well, the 30-year-old could push for squad inclusion when Ireland close out their Nations League campaign against Austria and Kosovo next month, although his position in the side is under threat after Charlton’s Conor Coventry made the most of his opportunities in two games against Israel and also the Austria match.Ireland newcomer Owen Elding scored a first-half goal for Hibernian on Saturday, but at that stage Hibs were already 2-0 down at home to Falkirk and ended up losing by that 2-1 scoreline. Rock bottom of the Scottish Premiership, there’s been little reason to cheer this season for Elding and his international colleague Jamie McGrath.“I think we were the thief of our own wallet,” said new Hibs manager Marink Reedijk, appointed shortly after Stephen Bradley ruled out leaving Shamrock Rovers for the Edinburgh club at this late stage of the League of Ireland season.“We gave away two easy goals. I thought we dominated the game. I have a sick feeling in my stomach but I see progress. We need to look forward and not backwards.”Up next? A nice, handy one against Celtic, who stuffed Hearts 7-1 on Sunday with Liam Scales assisting their opener.Gbemi Arubi has endured a frustrating time since swapping life in the League of Ireland for Burton Albion over the summer.Injury issues scuppered the former Dundalk attacker’s arrival in League One but, after biding his time, the Dubliner announced himself in style on Saturday, scoring an 89th-minute screamer from halfway. Alas, it wasn’t to be the winner as hosts Peterborough scrambled an equaliser deep in injury-time in new manager Robbie Savage’s first home league game.