Manchester United stalwart Wes Brown has likened Jack Byrne to Old Trafford legend Paul Scholes.
And the five-time Premier League winner believes new Ireland recruit Byrne is destined for the Premier League.
Brown and Byrne were team-mates at Blackburn Rovers in 2016, where the now Shamrock Rovers ace spent six months on loan.
On Tuesday night, Byrne left Ireland fans purring after an impressive debut off the bench in the 3-1 friendly win over Bulgaria.
Brown said: “On the ball he’s very tight, nice and tidy, like Scholesy but he attacks and runs at players more.
“Sometimes he didn’t make the right decisions but he was young, he was growing up and you’ve got to learn.
“He’s gifted. He’s one of those players you get sometimes - players who are born and don’t have to practice.
“The ball sticks to them and they can turn and get out of trouble. That’s what Jack is like and he’s evolving into the player we all know he can be.”
Byrne spent his youth at Manchester City and was loaned to Cambuur in Holland. He then joined Wigan, Oldham and Kilmarnock before returning home to Rovers.
But Brown - who also won two Champions Leagues during his 15 years at United - is convinced Byrne can play in England’s top flight.
“He can definitely play in the Premier League, I’m telling you,” he said. “I trained with him every day and he’s that sort of player - he’s aware of everything.
“If anything at Blackburn, some of the things he was doing, the other players weren’t on the same level.
“He’d do it early and in the Championship they’re not necessarily ready for early, they want to play a bit more.
“We were struggling at the time and the manager (Owen Coyle) won’t put the little guy, the magician guy in.
“He’ll put in players who will work and tackle. Jack is not exactly that player, he’s a different sort of player who was probably suited to another team.”
But Brown continued: “I’m buzzing because he’s happy and he’s happy because he’s settled. In the Championship he didn’t really get the chance to show what he could do.
“Then he went lower and as you go lower, players like Jack don’t show themselves as much because there’s a lot more battling going on and managers play a different way.
“He should have never really gone there in my eyes, but maybe some transfers were wrong or his head wasn’t right.
“But now I’m glad he’s showing what he can do and he’s got his call-up, which is good.”
Wes Brown was speaking at eir Sport’s season launch. You can see the Rugby World Cup, Champions League, Europa League, Allianz League, SSE Airtiricty League and Ireland U21 home qualifiers on the platform. Virgin Media Sport is now available on the eir Sport pack
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