IRELAND MANAGER HEIMIR Hallgrímsson says Owen Elding is fully committed to representing Ireland, despite recent reports indicating the English FA were hoping to convince the player to switch international allegiance.
The 20-year-old forward was born in England but grew up in Ireland, and is in the process of securing a passport to represent the Republic.
Elding made his name at Sligo Rovers and has continued to impress since joining Hibernian in January, scoring three goals in 10 Scottish Premiership appearances.
“I heard of the [England-related] report, didn’t read it,” Hallgrímsson said. “So I just called him this morning. I said I was going to a press conference. I just wanted to have his word for it. Is he committed to Ireland? 100% he is.
“And even though he cannot play the games against Qatar and Canada, we might even bring him in, just to have him around the squad in May and June. But he’s committed to us, so I’m not worried about that one.”
Hallgrímsson has restricted the squad for an upcoming friendly against Grenada on 16 May in Murcia to players who are out of season, with the original plan to keep them fit ahead of Ireland potentially competing at the World Cup – the Czechia defeat put paid to those hopes.
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The one exception is Jaden Umeh – the 18-year-old was selected on the basis that he is not playing for Benfica’s first team.
“From what we’ve seen, a high-potential player,” Hallgrímsson said. “We don’t know what his limit will be, but it is exciting to work with him and see what his limitations are. But, from what we’ve seen with youth teams and clips from Benfica, an exciting player, one for the future, if he is ready for the first team, we will have to wait and see.”
Umeh is one of nine uncapped players to make the squad.
Another is Jack Moylan, the Dubliner who helped seal Lincoln’s promotion to the Championship this season with 12 goals from 34 appearances.
“An interesting player,” the Irish boss said. “Individual quality, creative, goalscoring. I saw him in the last game of the season. It was a frantic atmosphere in Lincoln that day; it was enjoyable to be there. A good person as well – I spoke to him.
“And yeah, he was in consideration, he was in the big squad for the last camp. He was close to being picked then, so it’s just a good opportunity to bring him in and see what he’s made of, and how he works in our environment. He has a lot of attributes.
“I think it will be interesting to see him again in the Championship next season. One step higher. But his stats are incredible, one of the highest scorers in many metrics, but it’s League One. Let’s see how he does it in the championship next season. He is a really interesting player.”
Another individual hoping to make an impact will be goalkeeper Josh Keeley, a regular for Luton Town who narrowly missed out on the League One play-offs this season.
“[Luton] was a good move for him, and he’s played well. He’s improved this season. He’s getting closer to our top three keepers that we have been picking. It’s one position that we are really rich in this national team.”
The original plan had been to select a completely different squad for the later summer games against Qatar and Canada, but Hallgrímsson says he may now include some players in both camps.
Jimmy Dunne, Bosun Lawal and Gavin Bazunu are among the players injured, while Hallgrímsson also decided to leave out Sammie Szmodics, Harvey Vale, Robbie Brady and Jack Taylor following discussions between the medical teams on both the club and international sides.
Cardiff City’s Joel Bagan, who has been named in the squad to face Grenada, has a scan today and is a doubt for the game.
Hallgrímsson also confirmed that at least one more name would be added to the panel after an unidentified player pulled out at the last minute, but the Icelandic coach needed more time to confirm the decision of who would come in.
“There are a lot of players who have been on our mind. ‘Is he ready, is he not ready?’ So we’ll get answers after this camp and more clear, hopefully, one or two or three players will step up and stake a claim,” he added.
The 58-year-old has also resisted the temptation to call up League of Ireland players, but said they would be under consideration for the next squad.
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'Is he committed to Ireland? 100% he is'
IRELAND MANAGER HEIMIR Hallgrímsson says Owen Elding is fully committed to representing Ireland, despite recent reports indicating the English FA were hoping to convince the player to switch international allegiance.
The 20-year-old forward was born in England but grew up in Ireland, and is in the process of securing a passport to represent the Republic.
Elding made his name at Sligo Rovers and has continued to impress since joining Hibernian in January, scoring three goals in 10 Scottish Premiership appearances.
“I heard of the [England-related] report, didn’t read it,” Hallgrímsson said. “So I just called him this morning. I said I was going to a press conference. I just wanted to have his word for it. Is he committed to Ireland? 100% he is.
“And even though he cannot play the games against Qatar and Canada, we might even bring him in, just to have him around the squad in May and June. But he’s committed to us, so I’m not worried about that one.”
Hallgrímsson has restricted the squad for an upcoming friendly against Grenada on 16 May in Murcia to players who are out of season, with the original plan to keep them fit ahead of Ireland potentially competing at the World Cup – the Czechia defeat put paid to those hopes.
The one exception is Jaden Umeh – the 18-year-old was selected on the basis that he is not playing for Benfica’s first team.
“From what we’ve seen, a high-potential player,” Hallgrímsson said. “We don’t know what his limit will be, but it is exciting to work with him and see what his limitations are. But, from what we’ve seen with youth teams and clips from Benfica, an exciting player, one for the future, if he is ready for the first team, we will have to wait and see.”
Umeh is one of nine uncapped players to make the squad.
Another is Jack Moylan, the Dubliner who helped seal Lincoln’s promotion to the Championship this season with 12 goals from 34 appearances.
“An interesting player,” the Irish boss said. “Individual quality, creative, goalscoring. I saw him in the last game of the season. It was a frantic atmosphere in Lincoln that day; it was enjoyable to be there. A good person as well – I spoke to him.
“And yeah, he was in consideration, he was in the big squad for the last camp. He was close to being picked then, so it’s just a good opportunity to bring him in and see what he’s made of, and how he works in our environment. He has a lot of attributes.
“I think it will be interesting to see him again in the Championship next season. One step higher. But his stats are incredible, one of the highest scorers in many metrics, but it’s League One. Let’s see how he does it in the championship next season. He is a really interesting player.”
Another individual hoping to make an impact will be goalkeeper Josh Keeley, a regular for Luton Town who narrowly missed out on the League One play-offs this season.
“[Luton] was a good move for him, and he’s played well. He’s improved this season. He’s getting closer to our top three keepers that we have been picking. It’s one position that we are really rich in this national team.”
The original plan had been to select a completely different squad for the later summer games against Qatar and Canada, but Hallgrímsson says he may now include some players in both camps.
Jimmy Dunne, Bosun Lawal and Gavin Bazunu are among the players injured, while Hallgrímsson also decided to leave out Sammie Szmodics, Harvey Vale, Robbie Brady and Jack Taylor following discussions between the medical teams on both the club and international sides.
Cardiff City’s Joel Bagan, who has been named in the squad to face Grenada, has a scan today and is a doubt for the game.
Hallgrímsson also confirmed that at least one more name would be added to the panel after an unidentified player pulled out at the last minute, but the Icelandic coach needed more time to confirm the decision of who would come in.
“There are a lot of players who have been on our mind. ‘Is he ready, is he not ready?’ So we’ll get answers after this camp and more clear, hopefully, one or two or three players will step up and stake a claim,” he added.
The 58-year-old has also resisted the temptation to call up League of Ireland players, but said they would be under consideration for the next squad.
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