LAST UPDATE | 16 Mar 2022
THE NAMES JUST kept coming at Jim Crawford when the Republic of Ireland Under-21 manager announced his squad yesterday morning for the European Championship qualifier away to Sweden later this month.
Those included – and omitted – provide a glimpse of what is to come in a crucial fixture, but also the thinking of senior boss Stephen Kenny.
Mipo Odubeko, Evan Ferguson, Festy Ebosele and Eiran Cashin were all of particular interest, yet it was an enquiry about Michael Obafemi near the end of the half-hour press conference that led to an admission regarding the 21-year-old’s preference for international duty.
“Look, Michael has made it clear to us before that he sees himself as a senior international player. It’s unfortunate from an Under-21s perspective but I’ve had a conversation with his agent and that’s where it’s at,” Crawford said, having previously worked with him at Under-21 level following his senior cap under Martin O’Neill in 2019.
“The last thing I said to the agent was that, if he ever feels that he wants to come to the 21s, don’t hesitate to call because we’ll have a conversation around that. In his own eyes, I think he sees himself as a senior player.
“I’d expect him to be upfront with me, and he was, and I’ve got no complaints with that. If he was somebody that’d say ‘yeah, I’ll come in’ and then suddenly you name the squad and they’re getting this injury and that injury and things like that, that would be frustrating. But you’ve got to admire his honesty about the whole situation.
“It depends on the player, but for me if you say ‘I’m a senior player,’ you’ve got to back yourself and you’ve got to produce. If you’re a senior player you’ve got to be scoring goals at a high level, and he’s doing that. You can’t argue with that.”
Obafemi has been hailed by Swansea City manager Russel Martin for his overall performances and has recently found some goal-scoring form with four goals in the Championship since the start of February.
Leaving Southampton, where hamstring injuries as well as question marks over his application stunted his early progress in the first-team environment, appears to have been beneficial.
“He was never a problem,” Crawford insisted on their previous working relationship. “I did say to him: ‘you need to start playing games.’ There’s no point being at Southampton where you’re in the first team but you’re making cameo appearances here and there.
“Because he wasn’t even getting 23s games. So, I think he’s done the wise thing. He’s gone, albeit it was a slow start for him at Swansea, he’s starting to fulfil his potential. There’s more in him. He’s a player of frightening potential. We got on well,” he added.
“As a player. I’d be more concerned about my own development and where I’m at. It’s something that would have stood to him if he’d gone and played with the 21s.
“International football can be different. It’s more tactical. But he chose not to. That was his decision.
“And he’s now got into the Swansea team after what I consider a slow start and he’s produced some good performances.”
Odubeko’s future had been first on the agenda, Crawford explaining how the pair had met recently and the 19-year-old Dubliner, who also qualifies for Nigeria, had committed his allegiance to Ireland.
Once that was settled, the status of Ferguson – a Premier League debutant for Brighton at 17 earlier this year – was broached.
“I was always going to have Evan,” Crawford explained. “We have to see where we are at the minute, he’s picked up an injury. It’s nothing serious so we will have our medical team communicate with Brighton’s medical team and see where he is.
It’s great for Evan to be involved, even training with the first team at Brighton…. And he is level-headed enough to make sure that it doesn’t get to him, that being a professional footballer is a long and winding road, so he will be fine.
“I am delighted for him, you know yourself, if he breaks into the first team and scores goals at Brighton, he’s certainly on Stephen’s radar.”
He’s not the only one already emerging as someone capable of quickly bypassing the Under-21 grade. Ebosele has been a triumph for Wayne Rooney’s Derby County in the Championship this season, operating as a right and left wing back, a winger, and in attack.
Allied with the uncertainty at the club following administration, a transfer embargo and 21-point deduction which sees them six adrift of safety in the relegation zone, Ebosele’s enthusiasm and positivity has helped enthuse a beleaguered support.
“I have been there in their stadium and you get a feel about somebody by the crowd that’s around you, every time he got on the ball there was a real anticipation,” Crawford recalled.
“I don’t know how long we’ll have Festy but while he’s with us, we’ll look after him. Stephen [Kenny] has always been aware of Festy. We have had numerous conversations about Festy, his power and pace is something you can’t ignore and it’s there for everyone to see.”
Just as quickly as an Ebosele side-step and sprint, Crawford explained why he has been sufficiently impressed by the displays of club teammate Cashin to include him without doing some due diligence and
“I’ve seen enough. I’ll have a chat with Wayne before the window begins and will just find out a little bit more about Eiran’s character. It’ll be the first time I’ve met Eiran.
“He has always been on our radar for the 21s. He has played the last six games really well and fit there playing left centre-back very comfortably. He’s an aggressive centre-back.
“He wouldn’t be the tallest of centre-backs but he’s very aggressive and has a really good left foot that will give us balance, and he has leadership qualities that will stand to him going forward as a footballer.”
