Jack Byrne was the best Irish underage player bar none coming through the ranks, according to Seani Maguire.
The Shamrock Rovers midfielder, 22, was last week parachuted straight into the final 23-man squad to face Gibraltar and Georgia.
He was not in Mick McCarthy’s initial 38-man preliminary squad but McCarthy was in Tallaght to see his ‘masterclass’ against Sligo Rovers a week ago.
And the Ireland boss believes the former Manchester City starlet’s creative spark could be a valuable weapon.
This is not a alien environment for uncapped Byrne as he was invited to train with Martin O’Neill’s senior squad this time three years ago.
Striker Maguire was not involved then, but played with Byrne at Under-21 level before graduating into senior ranks in late 2017.
An ex-League of Ireland man himself with Cork City, Dundalk and Sligo Rovers, he insists nobody in the squad has looked down on a domestic player getting the call.
Maguire said: “Everyone knows how good he is. Jack just wants to get on the ball, to use the ball, play with the ball.
“He can probably be anything he wants to be - he’s that good.
“I’ve always said it, even growing up, he was the best underage player I’ve seen coming through the ranks.
“I really want to see him kick on now because I know for a fact that he can play at the highest level possible.”
Maguire added: “I know what Jack can bring to the table and it’s absolutely unbelievable. He can play at a much higher level.”
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