It was a phone call Craig Levein had been meaning to make.
Two years ago, the former Scotland manager phoned Steve Clarke, the current boss of the national team, for a routine catch-up. Levein asked Clarke if he had been keeping tabs on Andy Irving’s progress at Austria Klagenfurt. The midfielder had amassed four caps from Scotland Under-17 to Under-21 but had yet to earn a senior call-up.
Clarke’s response did not surprise Levein.
“I told Steve to keep an eye on Andy’s progress because he’s doing well,” Levein tells The Athletic. “Then he said, ‘Is that the young lad that played for Hearts? I remember Andy from my time as manager of Kilmarnock’. It wasn’t until recently when there was talk about Andy getting in the squad that I remembered the chat me and Steve had.”
Clarke has called up Irving for Scotland’s upcoming Nations League games against Croatia and Portugal. The 24-year-old has only played 31 minutes for West Ham United this season but has impressed head coach Julen Lopetegui with his work ethic. Before pre-season, the midfielder had interest from Spanish side Espanyol but Lopetegui convinced Irving to stay.
He then impressed in friendlies against Ferencvaros and Dagenham & Redbridge. Irving, who joined West Ham from Austria Klagenfurt for £1.6million ($2.1m) in 2023, had further interest from Celtic, St Pauli and Sturm Graz in the week leading up to deadline day. But Lopetegui wanted to keep Irving for squad depth and he gave the midfielder his debut in the 3-0 loss to Chelsea.
Irving has travelled an unconventional route. He started his career at Hearts in his native Edinburgh, before loan spells at Berwick Rangers, Falkirk and a permanent switch to German side Turkgucu Munchen — who played in the third-tier — in 2021.
“When he moved to Germany and Austria, some thought it was a step down but he proved people wrong,” says former Hearts team-mate Christophe Berra. “There’s been a lot of injuries and that’s probably helped Andy earn his call-up, but it shows he’s been on Steve’s radar. I’m sure he’s spoken to people at West Ham to find out how Andy is getting on. It’s great for Andy and hopefully he will play. I feel like a proud big brother.”
This is the story of how Irving fought through setbacks to be on the verge of an international debut, including:
- Leaving his boyhood club
- The coach who noticed him aged 11
- Being known as the “Portobello Pirlo”
- Bouncing back from a troubled spell at Turkgucu Munchen
Irving’s journey started at Portobello High School, in the east of Edinburgh.
Jamie Stewart was Irving’s PE teacher and they remain in regular contact. Stewart is not surprised his ex-pupil has reached the upper echelons of football.
“I remember my boss had taken the register but Andy wasn’t in that day,” says Stewart. “He was 15 and she asked the class, ‘Where’s Andy?’ They told her he was away with Hearts for their under-20s game against Celtic. So staff thought, ‘Bloody hell, he is only 15 and playing at that age group already’. He started playing for Scotland’s youth team, then we started to think he had a chance of making a career out of football.
“Andy is so humble and he hasn’t changed. When he was at Hearts, his younger brother (Robbie) was still at school. If he had games during the week, Andy and his dad would be there to support him. That’s why Andy deserves everything. At Hearts, the fans nicknamed him the ‘Portobello Pirlo’. That’s how good he was but he has tough moments. I remember bumping into him when he left Turkgucu Munchen. Andy was told the club had no money and he had to find a new team. So to go from that, joining West Ham, making his Premier League debut and senior call-up for Scotland. It’s been some journey for him.”
Alan Sinclair, a former academy coach at Hearts, also played an important role in Irving’s development. He coached the midfielder as he climbed up the youth ranks at the Scottish side. But his first sighting of Irving happened fortuitously.
“I was watching my friend’s son play a youth game at Hearts,” Sinclair says. “Five minutes into the game I said, ‘That player is really good’. But I wasn’t talking about my friend’s son, I was talking about Andy Irving. He was just better than all the other players. I phoned one of the scouts and said, ‘Listen, I’m watching a game at Newcraighall’, The scout interrupted me to say, ‘Yes, Andy is a talented boy’. I said, ‘How did you know it was about him?’ His response was, ‘We’ve been watching him for weeks. He’s miles ahead of everyone else. He’s on our radar’. Then he joined us at Under-11 level but always played with older age groups.”
But there was also a cheeky side to Irving’s personality, which Sinclair also fondly remembers.
“When we won a cup when Andy was 14,” Sinclair recalls. “We won 4-1 and I remember him high-fiving some of his team-mates on the bench and as he ran past, I tried to kick him up the a*** so he could get on with the game! Another special memory is when Hearts beat Hibernian in the 2012 Scottish Cup final. It was the day when the staff and the players were taking pictures with the trophy. The first-team and academy players were kept apart but Andy managed to sneak in and get a picture with the cup and a player. I thought, ‘Look at this cheeky little bugger!’”
Irving made his first-team debut for Hearts against Hamilton Academical in January 2018. It was Levein who gave the midfielder his chance and he developed into a fan favourite. Irving registered five goals across 59 appearances. Loan spells at Berwick Rangers and Falkirk in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons helped Irving gain confidence.
Across both spells, he scored two goals in 55 appearances. Paul Hartley, manager of Cove Rangers, coached Irving during his brief sojourn at Falkirk.
“I saw him play in a few reserve games for Hearts and I asked Craig Levein if I could sign him,” says Hartley. “Andy had great ability and his journey has been different. He’s a great example of risk meeting reward. His determination has got him where he is. Eyebrows were raised when he joined the third-division club in Germany. But he believed in himself and now he’s at a Premier League club. It’s a great example to young players of never giving up. I was surprised but also delighted for him when I saw he’s been called for the Scotland squad. Surprised because he hasn’t played much for West Ham, but sometimes you need that bit of luck. If he gets the opportunity to impress, I’m sure he will take it.”
Irving’s family supported Hearts, but while they watched him play for his boyhood club, Irving knew he had an important decision to make.
“Andy confided in me a few times when his contract was about to expire at Hearts,” says Berra. “He was offered a new deal but wasn’t happy with the terms of it and asked for my opinion. Andy wasn’t greedy or driven by money — he just wanted to play. But the deal the club offered didn’t make Andy feel valued. I told him, ‘If they’re not offering you what you think you’re worth, then take a risk. Scottish football isn’t the be-all and end-all’.
“Sometimes when you come through academies you’re not as appreciated as others. I think Andy felt like that and his gut instinct said to seek a new challenge. It was a real loss for Hearts because he would’ve developed into a real asset and sold on for a lot of money.”
Irving left Hearts in the summer of 2021 to join Turkgucu Munchen, but the club became embroiled in financial complications. In January 2022, they filed for bankruptcy and two months later withdrew from the 3. Liga because they did not have the financial means to finish the season. The midfielder trained with Austria Klagenfurt and German side Karlsruher to maintain his fitness. In the summer of 2022, Irving rejected interest from clubs in the German second tier to join Klagenfurt.
Tim Steidten, West Ham’s technical director, considered Irving to be a risk-free move. He returned to Klagenfurt on a season-long loan after joining West Ham on a three-year deal. Irving faces challenges from fellow central midfielders Edson Alvarez, Guido Rodriguez, Tomas Soucek and Carlos Soler for a starting berth. Of the seven league games West Ham have played, Irving has not been in the matchday squad twice, and has been an unused substitute on three occasions.
But Irving has shown he is not one to shy away from a challenge. That mindset has enabled him to reach this point in his career, where the next reward could be his most fulfilling yet.
“The fact West Ham signed Andy shows he has a bit about him,” says Levein. “Being at a Premier League club has put him right on the radar. I’m delighted to see he’s made great progress. Not playing often isn’t ideal for Andy because he’s the type of boy who wants to play all the time. But if you look at all the things he’s overcome, there’s no reason why he can’t force his way into the West Ham team and the national side.”
(Top photo: Getty Images)
