Jack Byrne could be a big part of the Ireland set-up for the next decade, according to Kevin Kilbane.
Shamrock Rovers midfielder Byrne has shone in the Hoops' European performances this season, and he was rewarded with a call-up by Mick McCarthy in March for a pair of European Championship qualifiers.
Kilbane said: "With the ability that Jack has got, he could go on and be a regular in the Irish team for ten years.
"I'm not saying it's definitely going to happen, but with the standard he's been playing at and what he's showing now and what he has shown in Holland, he's a player who could seriously go on and be a regular in the Irish set-up.
"The reality for him is showing consistent form, going and doing it regularly, but he's got undoubted quality and he's potentially the best player in the League of Ireland.
"He should be the best in the league for what he's got. He's a legitimate international."
Byrne returned to Rovers from Kilmarnock at the start of this season, and has been vital in Stephen Bradley's side's ascension to second in the League of Ireland table.
But Kilbane believes that the 23-year-old has excelled even more in the last few weeks particularly due to his improvements in his attacking game.
"In the last month to eight weeks or so," Kilbane said. "He's starting to have a big influence in the areas where you want him to be in.
"Earlier this year he was probably dropping a little too deep, he was getting a lot of the ball but he wasn't necessarily hurting opposition teams when he was playing.
"Now he's scoring goals, he's creating, he's having a massive influence in the final third of the pitch."
