Five Under-21 players who could follow Stephen Kenny into his first senior international selection on Monday
Credit: Michael P Ryan (ETPhotos)
Stephen Kenny will reveal his first squad as senior Republic of Ireland manager on Monday afternoon ahead of the UEFA Nations League games with Bulgaria and Finland next month.
The record-breaking former Dundalk boss will select his squad to face Bulgaria in Sofia and the Finns in Dublin on September 3rd and 6th respectively.
These games will serve as a warm-up for the Boys in Green’s Euro 2020 play-off semi-final away to Slovakia on October 8th.
Kenny’s footballing philosophy differs considerably from his predecessors Martin O’Neill and Mick McCarthy and there is an expectation he will consider a different type of footballer.
Kenny’s reign with the under-21s yielded five wins from seven games before his tenure as senior manager was brought forward due to the Covid-19 shutdown.
With many of the players who shone with his underage side now breaking through at senior level with their clubs, there’s much interest around who, if anyone, he will promote on Monday.
Here we look at five players who have made a case for senior selection on the back of their performances for the 21s and at club level over the last 12 months.
Dara O’Shea (West Bromwich Albion)
The man Slaven Bilic – and he would know a centre-half if he saw one – has described as ‘the present and future of West Brom’ has experienced a meteoric rise.
Having spent portions of the previous season on loan with non-league Hereford Town and League Two Exeter City, O’Shea wasn’t expected to start for the promotion-chasing Baggies.
A mixture of injuries and his sheer determination ensured the former St Kevin’s Boys man forced his way into the reckoning with Bilic early on.
He would go on to make 21 appearances in all competitions, scoring three times, as West Brom secured promotion as runners-up to the Premier League.
Playing more at right-back than his preferred centre-half role, O’Shea showed maturity beyond his 21 years and, with Ciaran Clark still injured, could well be called upon in Bulgaria.
Adam Idah
The soft-spoken Corkman has torn up trees at underage level for as long as he’s been on the radar and it was no surprise he was snapped up by Norwich City in 2018.
Tall and physical, but with a football brain to go with it, the former College Corinthians man broke records underage with Ireland.
He topped the goalscoring charts in qualifying for the 2018 UEFA Under-17 European Championships with eight goals as Ireland reached the quarter-finals.
His accession to the under-21s was seamless with a brace against Luxembourg in Kenny’s first game and another against Sweden.
Idah made his senior bow proper for Norwich in the 2019/20 FA Cup against Preston and scored a hat-trick before starting against Manchester United in the Premier League.
The striker had to wait for gametime as Norwich unsuccessfully fought relegation but he is bound to get more gametime in the second tier.
Troy Parrott
Ireland’s great hope is the Tottenham Hotspur striker and, after limited gametime under Mauricio Pochettino and Jose Mourinho, he hopes to kick on with a season-long loan with Millwall.
Parrott’s potential was noted early on when he was at Belvedere in the north inner city and Spurs courted him for years before he finally signed terms on his 16th birthday.
Goals galore in the UEFA Youth League for Spurs signalled his willingness to step up and he has trained with the senior team, and Harry Kane, for some time.
While Spurs’ troubles have limited his opportunities, as has an injury over the past few months, he looks set to get his chance at the Den.
Having made his senior international debut under Mick McCarthy in the 3-1 friendly win over New Zealand, Parrott has shown he has the ability to make it in senior football.
Michael Obafemi
An unfortunate run with injuries have halted Dublin-born Obafemi’s progress with the national set-up but he’s established himself as a regular in a free-scoring Southampton side.
Obafemi made his senior debut in 2018 under Martin O’Neill but has been restricted to under-21 action ever since.
Even so, his time under Kenny has largely been off the bench as Aaron Connolly, Zack Elbouzedi and Parrott have dominated the wide positions.
Four Premier League goals in 28 Premier League games (nine starts) tells another story, however, and Obafemi is ready to make the leap to senior international football now.
With blistering pace, a keen eye for a pass and poacher’s instinct, Obafemi may not be the archetypal Stephen Kenny winger but he has the opportunity to change the mould.
Jayson Molumby
Amid the bounty of strikers emerging for Ireland, Waterford’s Molumby has somewhat flown under the radar.
A year in which the Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder has blossomed on loan with Millwall has shown his age is no impediment to success.
Despite his small stature, Molumby is more than capable of mixing it in senior football and his goal in a 4-3 defeat to Queen’s Park Rangers in July further showcased his talents.
Kenny wasted little time installing him as captain when he took the under-21 job and Molumby calls to mind the Tallaght man’s general at Dundalk, Stephen O’Donnell, in demeanour.
He has an interesting decision ahead of him in the next couple of months as, should he not make the breakthrough at Brighton, he will have more than enough suitors in the second tier.
