Shay Given has compared the emergence of “bright spark” Evan Ferguson to the rise of his former Ireland teammates Robbie Keane and Damien Duff.
The ex-Ireland goalkeeper broke into the senior side in 1996, shortly before the arrivals of Keane and Duff.
He believes Ireland have finally found a player who can compare to the brilliant attacking pair in Brighton striker Ferguson - and he wants to see the 18-year-old start against France later this month.
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Speaking to LeoVegas, Given said: “We’ve been lacking someone like a Robbie Keane or Damian Duff for a while – a player who’s come through and got everyone all excited – but I think Evan Ferguson is of that ilk.
“This Ireland squad doesn’t have a lot of Premier League experience – when I used to play, our starting-11 was almost entirely Premier League players.
“We’re not at that level anymore, so it’s exciting when you see a bright spark like Evan coming into the Brighton team and doing so well.
“He’s coming in on merit too – he’s been playing brilliantly and scoring goals and making assists, he looks the real deal.”
Given, who was capped 134 times for Ireland between 1996 and 2016, continued: “I’m excited to see what he brings to the nation, and I’m sure I’m not the only Irish fan who thinks that way.
“The whole country is hoping he can bring his Brighton form into the Irish set up.
“He’s got a bit of everything; his height, his strength, his hold up play, and he’s obviously got an eye for goal too.
“I don’t want to put too much pressure on him, but if I were the Ireland manager, he’d be starting for sure.”
While Ferguson could boost Ireland’s attacking prospects, Given fears that the draw for the Euro 2024 qualifiers has given Stephen Kenny’s side a mountain to climb, with France, Holland and Greece also in the group.
“We couldn’t have asked for a tougher draw really,” he said. “Obviously we have France in our first game in Dublin – we all saw how brilliant they were in the World Cup – so it’s a very tough start for Ireland. The first two games are crucial for qualifying.
“Having said that, in the past when I’ve played for Ireland, sometimes in the big games you surprise yourself and get massive results.
“The key is it just not lose that first game – if we can get a draw against France and then go and beat Greece, it gives everyone a huge lift and presents us with a real chance of qualifying.
“If you get off to a bad start with two defeats in the first two games, you’re just chasing the pack for the rest of the campaign, so all focus has to be on France and getting a positive start to the campaign. It’s a tough ask to get out of the group.”
France were a penalty shootout away from retaining the World Cup in Qatar last December - and they have one of the world’s best players in Kylian Mbappe.
The PSG man’s support cast isn’t too bad either, so Given is curious as to how Ireland boss Kenny will approach the March 27 tie.
“It’s interesting to see what Stephen Kenny’s plan will be,” he said
“We’re beginning to see a new Ireland in terms of playing out from the back and trying to implement some really expansive football, but I feel if we do that against the likes of France then the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann could really damage us.
“I think we need to play higher up the pitch and be really solid as a team and not too open.
“I know when you play out from the back your centre-halves need to split, your midfielders need to drop and the fullbacks push up.
“I think if we play with that style against the French, it’ll be a tough day at the office.
“We need to be more solid and difficult to break down, then possible hit them on the counter attack with some of our quicker players.
“It’s a tough game and a tough group, but the group needs to believe they can get out of it.”
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