Mick McCarthy saw James McCarthy get 90-minutes under his belt for new club Crystal Palace today.
A £3m transfer deadline recruit from Everton, the Ireland midfielder is ramping up efforts for inclusion in the Irish squad to face Switzerland.
That key Euro 2020 qualifier in Dublin is looming on September 5 and Ireland boss McCarthy will name his squad in Galway this Friday evening,
And James McCarthy has already been told that he must be playing to merit a spot in the extended list.
Fit again following a double-leg break in January 2018, he was an unused sub against his former club in Saturday’s Premier League opener.
But he got a full run out at Selhurst Park this afternoon as Palace’s Under-23s drew 1-1 with Birmingham City’s Under-23s.
Ireland boss McCarthy was in the stands and sat next to Palace first-team boss Roy Hodgson throughout.
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