Trevor Clarke was last night tipped to follow Jack Byrne into the Republic of Ireland squad - by the man himself.
Byrne is convinced that Irish Under-21 ace Clarke has the quality to become a senior international before long.
Ex-Man City youth Byrne is still uncapped but was drafted into the senior squad by Mick McCarthy for the opening Euro 2020 qualifiers against Gibraltar and Georgia.
And asked yesterday if he felt other League of Ireland players could make a similar breakthrough, Byrne said: “Of course.
“I think if Sean Maguire stays at Cork, he still gets an Ireland cap. He got an option to move across the water and in Gibraltar he was our starting No 9.
“There are players in our (Shamrock Rovers) dressing room that could make the step up.
“Trevor Clarke could 100% play for Ireland. He’s only back from a long term injury so we’ll see how he gets on.”
Clarke missed most of last season with a cruciate injury that required surgery in April.
Back in the thick of it, he was in Stephen Kenny’s U21 squad for the opening qualifier against Luxembourg last month but ended up missing the game with a knock.
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