Irish U21 boss Jim Crawford has backed Serie A new boy James Abankwah to build on his starting debut for Udinese and take the Italian league by storm next season.
Abankwah, 19, shone for Udinese against Juventus on Sunday, and unsurprisingly has been promoted from the Irish U19 team to Crawford’s U21 side.
In all there are nine newcomers into Crawford’s panel for a three-game summer series against Gabon, Kuwait and Ukraine this month - but one name stands out, Abankwah who is one of just five Irish players to have played in the Italian top-flight.
Crawford said: “James did really well against Juventus and what a stage to play on.
“He did not look one bit out of place. I always thought he was a player with immense talent when he was at St Pat's, and the fact he can play in a couple of positions is always important at international level.”
Abankwah follows in the footsteps of previous Irish players - Liam Brady, Robbie Keane, Paddy Sloan and fellow Udinese player, Festy Ebosele.
“It's a huge positive because historically it's not a league that's known for playing young players, unless you are exceptional.
“Okay it was the last game of the season but to play James still shows they have high hopes for a player like that, I know if I was a player in that position, you throw in a player to see how he reacts and it's brilliant for James, we have another player with the U21s who has played in Serie A which is fantastic.”
Crawford also praised Andy Moran, the Brighton playmaker who made his Premier League debut for Brighton this year. Moran, at 19, featured in three games for the Seagulls and has been touted as the next big thing.
Crawford said: “He is a fantastic talent, I saw him play against Chelsea's U21s and he played like a false nine, he was exceptional, scored two goals and he was the best player on the park, with his creativeness and his eye for goal.
“They speak very highly of him at Brighton and you can see that, he has been on the bench a few times, I'd thought he'd get some first team minutes towards the end of the season and that wasn't to be.”
Ireland play Gabon’s U23 side in the first of their three friendlies next Tuesday followed by Ukraine on Friday week and then Kuwait. All three games take place in Austria.
Ireland Under-21s Squad
Goalkeepers: Tiernan Brooks (Notts County), Killian Cahill (Brighton & Hove Albion), Josh Keeley (Tottenham Hotspur)
Defenders: James Abankwah (Udinese), Tayo Adaramola (Crystal Palace), Sam Curtis (St. Patrick’s Athletic) James Furlong (Brighton & Hove Albion), Anselmo Garcia MacNulty (Wolfsburg), Sean Grehan (Crystal Palace), Connor O’Riordan (Crewe Alexandra), Sean Roughan (Lincoln City)
Midfielders: Darragh Burns (MK Dons), Jack Henry-Francis (Arsenal), Joe Hodge (Wolves), Bosun Lawal (Celtic), Ed McJannet (Lecce), Killian Phillips (Crystal Palace), Rocco Vata (Celtic) Harry Vaughan (Hull City)
Forwards: Sinclair Armstrong (QPR), Conor Carty (St. Patrick’s Athletic), Dylan Duffy (Lincoln City), Johnny Kenny (Shamrock Rovers, on loan from Celtic), Andrew Moran (Brighton & Hove Albion), Armstrong Oko-Flex (West Ham United), Ollie O’Neill (Derry City, on loan from Fulham)
Ireland Under-21s international friendly fixtures (All times are Irish Standard Time)
Tuesday, June 13 | Ireland U21 v Gabon U23, KO 5pm, venue TBC
Friday, June 16 | Ukraine U21 v Ireland U21, KO 5pm, venue TBC
Monday, June 19 | Ireland U21 v Kuwait U22, KO 4pm, venue TBC
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