When Richie Towell completed his move to Brighton in December, talk immediately turned to his chances of an international call-up. Was the distrust of the League of Ireland so great that the League's best player simply had to leave before he could even think of getting international honours? Would Towell break into the Brighton team and be automatically given the chance to impress Martin O'Neill ahead of Euro 2016.
At this moment in time, we still don't know the answer to that question. Towell himself did little to dampen talk of an international call-up by stating that he was looking to give O'Neill some headaches with his performances for Brighton but the truth of the matter is that, over a month into his spell with Chris Hughton's side, Towell has yet to make his league debut for the Championship club and it would appear he's no closer to getting his first senior cap.
Whatever we may say about Martin O'Neill's squad selection, being called up to the international side is not an easy ask. Fans will no doubt point to the likes of Simon Cox, but performing adequately in the Championship has, for the most part, been the minimum requirement for O'Neill so far in his tenure.
We may have a soft spot for the likes of Towell who has impressed in Ireland, but until he can prove he's at Championship level, maybe he doesn't deserve a call-up. And interestingly enough, that's something that Chris Forrester would appear to agree with following his breakout performance against West Brom this week.
The former St. Pat's midfielder has impressed an awful lot of people since breaking into the Peterborough side and the FA Cup replay this week gave him ample opportunity to show his worth. He certainly didn't disappoint. If the clamour for a Towell call up had died down then the bandwagon to see Forrester in a green jersey before the summer has come along at the perfect time.
But is that likely? Speaking to the Irish Sun today, the Dubliner has been very honest about those chances and according to the man himself, it probably won't be happening while he's playing in League One.
If it does ever happen, I’ll take it in my stride and do the best that I can. I’ll be there for a reason. It would be because they think I’m good enough.
But I really don’t know if can you do it from League One. You see a lot of people saying stuff but I wouldn’t be able to say. I don’t know what’s in Martin O’Neill’s or Roy Keane’s heads. All I can do is keep trying to play as well as I can consistently. That is what I am trying to do.
The 23 year old has made all the right steps in his career so far. When he was first linked with a move to England, he decided to stick around in Inchicore and hone his skills. He moved when he had matured as a footballer and it's stood him in good stead so far. This season may well be too soon for Forrester but with links to the Premier League already appearing, who's to say we won't be seeing Forrester star in Ireland World Cup qualifying campaign come the end of 2016?
