Aaron Connolly could yet be drafted into the senior Ireland squad for the upcoming Euro qualifiers away to Georgia and Switzerland.
Mick McCarthy and Stephen Kenny spoke on Tuesday and discussed the possibility of the uncapped Brighton attacker stepping up.
As it stands, the emerging Brighton star is still in Kenny’s Under-21 plans for their own Euro double-header against Italy and Iceland.
But Connolly’s stock is rising by the week after a run of four Premier League appearances for the Seagulls this season.
And McCarthy was blown away by his scintillating performance in Ireland’s recent win over Armenia at Tallaght Stadium.
With Sheffield United striker David McGoldrick in a race against time to be fit for the Tbilisi and Georgia games, McCarthy is considering all his options.
Kenny said yesterday: “It's just the situation we're in and I'm not complaining about that as they’re two hugely important fixtures in Georgia and Switzerland.
“That's the nature of my job and I understand that. We want to have our best players available but if it happens, it happens.”
Asked if he thought the Galway teen, 19, could handle the step up to senior ranks, Kenny said: “He's made a lot of progress in a short space of time and he's done very well.
“When I was playing him on the left in Toulon during the summer, Brighton had never played him on the left.
“Now, I'm not claiming great credit for the idea. He played there for Colin O'Brien at Under-17 a couple of times but he never played on the left for Brighton.
“Brighton see him as a centre forward. We're still learning about him but he has performed at a very high level in the Under-21 games to date.”
On Tuesday, McCarthy claimed he was unlikely to raid Kenny’s high-flying squad just for the sake of it, considering the importance of the 21's own games.
And he also wondered if high-stakes senior qualifiers were the right environment to blood uncapped youngsters.
Kenny said: “He’s not an orthodox left-sided player. He's not James McClean, so he's not going to be doubling up with your full-back or covering your full-back.
“He's someone that plays out to in, if you like. He plays as a left-sided forward. He's not an orthodox winger, he's a forward who plays on the left.
“It's a different position but he's a goal threat and he's a dribbler - an exciting dribbler.
“It's not for me to say how he would do but he's done well. But he may not be involved in the seniors and could still be involved against Italy which would be great to see.”
Connor Ronan returns to the squad - which has three wins from three so far - after broken ribs kept him out of the games against Armenia and Sweden last month.
And Kameron Ledwidge of Southampton is among the defenders after injured Bohemians left-back Darragh Leahy was ruled out
Kenny was in England on Tuesday night to see Ledwidge play against Walsall in the Football League Trophy.
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