2 days ago
3 winners and 3 losers from Ireland's latest international window
The winners
Ryan Manning
Having been largely on the periphery of the team in the Stephen Kenny era, Manning has become an important squad member under Heimir Hallgrímsson.
The 28-year-old has 17 caps, six have come in the Icelandic coach's 10 matches in charge, while only five of his appearances under Kenny were in competitive games.
What helps the Galway native is his versatility.
At club level in recent years, he has generally been deployed as left-back/left-wing-back.
In his earlier days at Galway United, however, Manning often played in the attacking midfielder/number 10 role.
Against Senegal, Manning played a hybrid of these two positions. He drifted centrally and became an attacking midfielder when Ireland had possession, whereas without the ball, he tucked in on the left wing as Ireland reverted from a 3-4-2-1 to a 4-4-2.
The Southampton star impressed, setting up Kasey McAteer's goal with his cross before being replaced by Killian Phillips in the 67th minute.
He didn't start the Luxembourg encounter, but ended up enjoying more game time than he did against Senegal. The former QPR player was needed at left-back as early as the 21st minute, replacing the injured Robbie Brady.
He proceeded to produce a solid performance, proving he can be relied upon to cover more than one position.
Kasey McAteer
McAteer went into this camp with just four substitute appearances to his name for Ireland.
The Leicester star impressed on his full debut against Senegal, scoring Ireland's goal with a well-taken finish and producing a player-of-the-match performance.
The 23-year-old winger was rewarded with a second consecutive start against Luxembourg, and struggled to have the same impact as part of a lacklustre Irish attack before being replaced by Matt Doherty in the 76th minute.
You suspect alternative options in attack, like Sammie Szmodics and Chiedozie Ogbene, are still probably ahead of McAteer in the pecking order, but as Hallgrímsson said of the latter, he has 'created a bit of a stir' after Friday's performance.
Having looked very much like a peripheral squad member before this window, it is now not inconceivable that he could play a major role in the upcoming vital World Cup qualifiers, particularly if Ogbene has not fully recovered by then.
The 28-year-old Ipswich winger has not played since rupturing his achilles tendon last October, but is reportedly targeting a comeback in time for Ireland's September fixtures.
Max O'Leary
Over six years on from his first call-up, O'Leary finally made his Ireland debut on Tuesday away to Luxembourg.
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And he was one of the few players for the visitors to emerge from the dour 0-0 draw with his reputation enhanced.
The 28-year-old made a couple of decent saves and did very little wrong over the 90 minutes.
Naturally, Caoimhín Kelleher will remain Ireland's first-choice goalkeeper following his €21 million move to Brentford.
But O'Leary, who played every minute of action for Bristol City in the Championship this season, is a fine alternative.
The Bath-born stopper, who qualifies through a Kerry-born grandfather, proved he has the ability and temperament to step up if required.
The losers
Evan Ferguson
Appropriately enough, a largely forgettable season for Evan Ferguson ended in disappointingly tame fashion.
The Brighton striker struggled to have much impact, even when starting against a side 31 places below Ireland in the Fifa rankings.
He did not fare much better against Senegal, although by the time the Meath native was introduced in the 58th minute of that game, the momentum had swung firmly in the visitors' favour, so it was a difficult situation to be thrust into.
It's worth remembering that Ferguson is still only 20.
The youngster showed what he is capable of in the last window, finishing clinically from a Finn Azaz pass to draw Ireland level in the home game with Bulgaria.
Players his age invariably have spells of inconsistency, and his form was also significantly hampered by a serious injury he suffered.
An ankle injury last year led to ligament surgery, ruling him out for six months.
It meant he missed the early weeks of the 2024-25 season and was playing catch-up all year in terms of fitness.
Having cut an isolated figure in Luxembourg, Ferguson can now at least put a disappointing campaign behind him and get some much-needed rest ahead of what is likely to be a big season for him.
Sky Sports News have reported that Brighton recently put in a £34 million bid for Olympiacos centre-forward Charalampos Kostoulas.
If that deal goes through, it will increase the uncertainty around the youngster's Seagulls future.
But despite his stop-start season and failed West Ham loan, Ferguson is unlikely to be short of suitors if he is made available by Brighton, with David Moyes' Everton one of the clubs linked with his signature.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin's contract expires this summer, so the Toffees could look to the Ireland star as a natural replacement for the England international.
Josh Honohan
Max O'Leary, Killian Phillips and John Patrick all made their Ireland debuts in this window, but Josh Honohan has been made to wait.
The 24-year-old's name in the initial squad announcement drew the most publicity of anyone, due to it still being relatively rare for League of Ireland-based footballers to earn international recognition with the Boys in Green.
Some of the shine was taken off a special week for the Carrigaline native owing to manager Stephen Bradley's comments in the build-up.
The Hoops boss said Honohan was 'the worst I've seen him' in Rovers' recent 0-0 draw with Galway.
Such stinging criticism delivered by a manager to one of his players is rare in football.
Honohan diplomatically played down the controversy, admitting he didn't have his 'best game' during the match in question.
Perhaps this lack of form was part of the reason why Hallgrímsson opted not to blood the 24-year-old in either of the two end-of-season friendlies.
Even with Robbie Brady getting injured early against Luxembourg, the Ireland boss preferred to introduce Manning in the left-back position.
Before his criticism, Bradley had repeatedly called on Honohan to get Ireland recognition.
Brady, at 33, won't be around forever, and while the fact that the Shamrock Rovers star was called up in the first place is an impressive feat when you consider the full context, perhaps the manager feels he needs more experience around the squad and further time to adapt to the demands of international football.
It would therefore be fair to say the former Iceland boss feels Honohan is not quite ready yet to be thrust in at this level, and he has more work to do before becoming an established and trusted team member.
Liam Scales
On the whole, Scales has enjoyed an encouraging season.
The defender played 26 times in the Scottish Premiership for a Celtic side that won the title.
Along with Adam Idah and Kelleher, he was also the only Irish player to appear in the Champions League group stages this season.
And in total, he played 370 minutes in Europe's premier club competition, more than Idah (338) and Kelleher (360), although he was left on the bench for the Glasgow club's climactic clashes against Bayern Munich.
So the former UCD man will perhaps be disappointed that he was limited to only an 85th-minute appearance against Senegal in this window.
He looked like an automatic selection earlier in Hallgrímsson's reign, starting four of the Boys in Green's six Nations League group games.
Yet the 26-year-old's stock appears to have fallen since a costly red card in the 5-0 defeat to England last November, with that Senegal cameo his only taste of international football in the subsequent period.
But more than anything, Scales' absence is a reflection of Ireland's impressive depth at centre-back.
Nathan Collins, Dara O'Shea and Jake O'Brien all had strong seasons in the Premier League and while the trio don't have Champions League experience, domestically they are playing at a higher level.
