4 days ago
Jim Crawford backs Ireland U21 starlet to ‘take hype in his stride' as he reveals ‘his family's experienced it before'
JIM CRAWFORD backed Cathal O'Sullivan to block out the noise by making some of his own with the Republic of Ireland U21s.
The
Cork
City starlet is one of three League of
Ireland
players to have earned their first call-ups into Crawford's panel for today's friendly against
2
Cathal O'Sullivan is one of the rising stars of the League of Ireland
Credit: Seb Daly/Sportsfile
2
Jim Crawford backed him to take the hype in stride
Credit: Manu Reino/Sportsfile
That will be followed by another friendly against
next
Tuesday.
O'Sullivan is joined by
And the Ireland U21 boss praised the trio for making a seamless transition, saying: 'They haven't looked out of place.
'I had a conversation with Cathal saying that last year, when he was playing in the First Division, I thought he was outstanding.
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'And then, when they got promoted, I said, great, he has that taste now of being in a league winning team.
'He's been excellent. He really has. He's exciting crowds and I'm looking forward to seeing him play for us in this window.
'Cory was someone so young, playing with the top team in the league and looking comfortable.
'He plays with a maturity and a know-how that merits his inclusion.
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'Warren's been having a great year. He knows that he's at a stage that will help him develop even more.'
O'Sullivan has been
the talk
of the
Watch Robbie Brady aim hilarious dig at Ireland teammates after winning Player of the Year award
The 18-year-old scored seven goals in 28 appearances as the Leesiders won the First Division in 2024 and has played 14 times in the Premier Division this season.
While City are second from bottom, O'Sullivan's reputations has continued to blossom.
The winger visited
After
Meanwhile, City teammate – and ex-Preston North End
star
- Seani Maguire argued he is
Crawford revealed that the youngster's brother spent time at
family
handled that experience will serve O'Sullivan well.
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He added: 'I've seen it with players where players would lose the run of themselves with all the external stuff coming from
social media
or from other people around the game.
'He's played some big games for Cork and he's been excellent, he really has, so I would suggest that he'll just take it in a stride.
'His brother played with Aston Villa. I think he was there for a year, he was saying.
'The family have experienced somebody at that level that goes away to
England
and tries to forge a career in the game.'
Crawford also confirmed that Man Utd prospect Jacob Devaney will make his Ireland U21 debut in this window.
The Yorkshire-born midfielder got his first call-up having previously played for the U19s.
The 17-year-old is among the smattering of first-timers that also includes Killian Barrett, Cian Dillon – who was drafted in after injuries to Mason Melia and Jack Moorehouse – and the aforementioned League of Ireland trio.
And Crawford said: 'Jacob's come in and he's trained well. He had to step out for one of our sessions. It was just to modify his load.
'The beauty with him, he can play as that holding midfielder and he can play as a full-back too, which is always a strength for a player as well in international
football
.
'He's come in and again, another player who hasn't looked out of place.
'He's a fantastic personality and he's a credit to his family because he's come in and it could have been quite daunting for him to come into a 21s camp.
'He's come in and he's been excellent, he really has, so he's definitely looking forward to putting on the green
jersey
.'
