Evan Ferguson says the desire for a change after a frustating campaign in England and the allure of Roma were the central factors in his decision to decamp to the Italian capital for this season.
Ferguson arrived into Irish camp from Rome, where his new club have made a fine start to the season, currently sitting in second spot, only behind defending champions Napoli on goal difference.
The Republic of Ireland striker has featured prominently so far, though he has yet to score despite a couple of decent all-round displays.
Roma's current lofty position in the table owes more to their miserly defensive record, with just two goals conceded in five matches.
Ferguson, who turns 21 in the next fortnight, endured a difficult 2024-25 season, with just one Premier League goal for Brighton in the early part of the season and then an unsuccessful loan move to West Ham after Christmas.
"It was obviously a tough end to last season," he told RTÉ Sport's Tony O'Donoghue in a lengthy sit-down interview.
"I had a think back and said I wanted to go away and try something new. Because I'd been in England four or five years then.
"And Roma came about and it's hard to say no to a club like that.
"You knew it was a big club. But then when you get there, you realise that it's much bigger than you think. The fans are crazy."
While Festy Ebosele and James Abankwah have both played in Serie A in recent years - both for Udinese - Ferguson is undoubtedly the most high-profile Irish international to move to Italy since Robbie Keane's short-lived stint at Inter Milan in 2000 (Ironically, it was future Ireland assistant manager Marco Tardelli who shipped Keane out of Milan after Marcello Lippi's sacking).
The preferred model to emulate is, of course, Liam Brady, who spent seven years in Italy, winning two Serie A titles with Juventus in 1981 and 1982 and later shining for Sampdoria.
In the past, recruits from the English league found it notoriously hard to adapt to the Italian game, in particular the rigorously disciplined and monkish lifestyle insisted upon by Serie A managers.
However, in the last while, players have departed from the Premier League (specifically Manchester United) have found a new lease of life in Italy, most notably Scott McTominay, though Rasmus Hojlund has already made a promising start.
"The training over there is a lot different compared to England. You do more in training, it's a lot more intense," says Ferguson.
"Over there, days off are very rare. You're nearly celebrating a day off over there. It's full on. You're always staying the night (in a hotel) whether it's home or away.
"The game is different because it's a lot more tactical.
"You're nearly playing man-to-man every week with teams having different systems. That's where it's different to England, where it's more back-and-forth, back-and-forth... but it's a good change.
"Most of them (my team-mates) speak English. And the food's a lot better over there."
As to why McTominay has benefitted from his move to Naples, Ferguson suggests that getting away from the noise of the Premier League may be a factor.
He said: "I'm not sure, maybe it's the way of life. Just getting out of England... everyone knows in England, once one thing go bad, everyone gets on it, you know what I mean?"
The national team did see some benefit from Ferguson getting regular football, the striker scoring in successive games against Hungary and Armenia, though it was a miserable international window on the whole.
The 2-1 defeat in Armenia killed any semblance of goodwill generated by the home and away victories over Bulgaria in March, with most supporters inclined to write off any prospect of Ireland reaching the 2026 World Cup.
It was the third campaign in succession that Ireland's qualification chances had been mortally wounded by the second game, though time will yet tell whether it's fatal again this time around.
"Obviously we know it wasn't good enough," Ferguson admits. "We heard and found out online from everyone their thoughts and opinions.
"But I think in camp we know ourselves that it's not good enough. And we came together and had a meeting on what we need to do and what we can't really do again.
"We always appreciate when the fans come over, especially when they're probably losing a bit of hope and a bit of confidence in us.
"As I said, we don't come here to lose games. We don't play for Ireland to lose games. We always want to win and do our best, so hopefully we put in a performance tomorrow and show up.
"When I came in and we had lots of players that had played in the previous tournaments and when they speak about it, it kind of makes you want to have the same feelings and the same stories that they had.
"They said there's nothing better, so I think that's the main objective."
It's nearly six and a half years since a 14-year-old Ferguson made his debut in senior football for Bohemians in a friendly against Chelsea, an event which generated headlines due to his youth.
He signed for Brighton at 16 back in 2021, his English mother allowing him to get around Brexit related age restrictions.
These continue to significantly impact Irish football in various ways, with Mason Melia and Victor Ozhianvuna signing million euro deals with Tottenham and Arsenal respectively, though with both switches stalled until they turn 18.
While the Brexit rules have benefitted League of Ireland clubs in terms of transfer fees, most ex-internationals - Damien Duff among them - are of the view that the players themselves are playing "catch-up" with their peers as a result of missing out on the training available at Premier League academies.
Ferguson echoes these concerns.
"I think it's tough, because if you ask them, they'd want to go away as quick as they can. To take my example, if I moved away at 18, you're already missing half of what (the others) have done already.
"I think it's a hard one, but obviously in this situation, you can't really do a whole lot. You just have to do what you can back home until you have your opportunity."
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