Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley has offered Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson some more advice - get Victor Ozhianvuna into the squad for the end of season training camp and internationals.
Hallgrimsson is due to meet the media in Dublin on Tuesday when he will name his first summer squad for a training camp and friendly against Grenada in Spain this month - with this squad to be made up of non top flight players due to club commitments.
The Ireland coach will then decide who stays in the squad and joins his senior internationals for a Dublin friendly against Qatar at the end of the month followed by a trip to play Canada at the start of June.
Speaking ahead of tonight’s home Premier Division game against Waterford, Bradley talked up the international potential of 17-year-old Ozhianvuna who has already committed to Arsenal in a €2million deal which will see him move to London as an 18-year-old next January.
Bradley told the Irish Mirror: “I’d take Victor into the squad tomorrow. I think he’s a special talent, I really do. We haven’t got anything like him at any age in the central area of the pitch - from the senior team down.
“I’m not saying he’s a mainstay but I think he’s a serious talent and there’s nothing like him [in] every aspect. We have very similar midfielders from the senior team down. Very similar.
“We could go through them, player for player, they’re all very similar in how they play the game and the attributes they have. They’re good players of course, they’re playing at good levels, Premier League, some of them [in the] Championship. But we have nothing like [Ozhianvuna]. Nothing.
“I’m not getting carried away. You have to be careful because he’s young and it’s a lot. He’s so young. But we have nothing like it.”
Bradley also revealed that veteran striker Rory Gaffney could soon return to the Rovers squad as he recovers from an infection picked up following surgery on a long term achilles injury.
Irish Under 21 winger Trent Kone-Doherty has confirmed that his hunger for first team football persuaded him to swap Liverpool for Norwegian side in the last transfer window.
The Derry born 19-year-old has lifted the lid on why he chose to take the unconventional route to senior football with the Norwegian side rather than await more first team opportunities under Arne Slot.
“I was ready to start playing senior football, but at that moment I wasn’t getting that at Liverpool,” said Kone-Doherty in an exclusive interview with the Irish Independent’s Sean O’Connor.
“For me, it was about going somewhere where I could get some experience in senior football. I felt like it was the next step for me. Once you get a taste for the first team, it makes you eager for more.
“It wasn’t an easy decision. My whole life was in Liverpool. I had three years there, but I think it was best for my career. I had to make the decision in the end. You just have to be brave sometimes and take control of your career.
“It can be tough to break through, especially when you’re at those top clubs. It takes a lot of patience. Sometimes, you just need to make a decision.”
The English FA are set to step up their interest in former Sligo Rovers winger Owen Elding, currently making a big impression at Hibernian in the Scottish Premier Division as he awaits his Irish passport.
Elding was due to attend a ceremony to take up Irish citizenship recently but that was cancelled at the last minute and he is still waiting to complete the paperwork that will make him eligible for Jim Crawford’s Irish Under 21 squad.
Now the Irish Sun reports, via London based reporter Charlie Wyett, that England are keen to bring Elding into their underage set-up after he marked his move to HIbs and Scottish football with three goals in his first nine appearances.
The 20-year-old is the son of former Stockport and Leeds United striker Anthony Elding but qualifies for the Republic via the residency rule after moving to the country when his father signed for Sligo.
Elding played 67 games for Sligo between 2023 and 2025 and scored 16 goals before his €430,000 move to Hibernian.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has again insisted that Iran will play at the World Cup finals in America this summer - despite their football federation delegation missing the FIFA Congress in Canada this week due to visa issues.
Speaking after the congress, when he confirmed he will run again for the presidency, Infantino told the BBC that he has no doubt Iran will fulfill their group fixtures against New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt.
Infantino stressed: “Of course, Iran will play in the United States of America. The reason for that is simple, because we have to unite. We have to bring people together.”
Cork born manager Brian Barry-Murphy has again been linked with a top job in English football but his Welsh employers at newly promoted Cardiff City aren’t buying into any speculation about his future.
The Wales Online website reports that Cardiff’s owners have poured cold water on reports putting Barry-Murphy in the frame to replace Scott Parker at relegated Burnley when they join the Bluebirds in the Championship next season.
Craig Bellamy and Steven Gerrard have also been linked with the Burnley vacancy but the website insists that Cardiff sources are adamant that Barry-Murphy will stay put.
