John O'Shea confirmed he consulted his former Manchester United teammate and current Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick about calling up Finn Azaz to the Republic of Ireland squad ahead of the March Internationals against Belgium and Switzerland.
Azaz, along with Lyon's Jake O'Brien, have both received their first call-up to the senior team for this International window.
Finn Azaz has shone so far this season in the Championship with both Plymouth and Middlesbrough. The creative midfielder has two goals and an assist since joining high-flying Boro in January. Before that move, he was in fine form for Plymouth, scoring seven goals and registering five assists in the first half of the season for The Pilgrims.
The Birmingham-born midfielder has been highly touted since he went on loan to Argyle last season, helping them gain promotion to the Championship for the first time in over a decade. He has yet to be capped at senior level, though he lined out for the U21's in September 2022 against Israel in a European Championships play-off.
Speaking at the squad announcement press conference, interim manager John O'Shea mentioned that he talked with former teammate and Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick about Finn Azaz and the former Man United man is happy with the youngster.
Finn, obviously I know him form working in the under 21s, he was having a great season at Plymouth and got signed by Middlesbrough, he's doing really well, scored a couple goals for them as well.
[He's a] really good, creative, technical option for us for us going forward as well.
Obviously I talked to Michael (Carrick) about him, he's really enjoying working with him and I think he's going to add something different to the squad.
Republic of Ireland Squad Announced For March Internationals
27 September 2022; Finn Azaz of Republic of Ireland in action against Eden Karzev of Israel during the UEFA European U21 Championship play-off second leg match between Israel and Republic of Ireland at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv, Israel. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
22-year-old Jake O'Brien has been making history this season, becoming the first Irishman to play in Ligue 1 in 23 years. The Cork-born centre-back has been a regular in the Lyon side since joining from Crystal Palace in the summer.
He's played 18 times this season and scored 3 times and also won Lyon's Player of the Month in December. He's one of the few bright spots in Irish football and for Lyon this season as the French giants sit in a lowly tenth at the time of writing.
Jake O'Brien's call-up has been coming for a while now, with many thinking he should've been called up for the last squad in November. He has plenty of experience at the underage levels, making 11 caps for the U21s since September 2021.
Other names called up to John O'Shea's Ireland squad are Sammie Szmodics, who's been flying in the Championship for Blackburn and has garnered Premier League interest. Seamus Coleman, Robbie Brady, Michael Obafemi and Callum O'Dowda also return to the squad for the March friendlies.
Lastly, Joe Hodge and Andrew Moran will play in the Republic of Ireland U21s Euro qualifier against San Marino on March 22nd. They will then join up with the senior team for the Switzerland friendly on March 26th.
𝗠𝗡𝗧 𝗦𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗗 🇮🇪
John O'Shea names a 26-man squad for 🇧🇪 &🇨🇭
▪️ Szmodics in
▪️ First call-ups for O'Brien & Azaz
▪️ Coleman, Brady, Obafemi & O'Dowda returnExciting squad for our March double-header 💚
23/03 | 🇮🇪🆚🇧🇪
26/03 | 🇮🇪🆚🇨🇭 pic.twitter.com/ftkGCywyiw— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) March 14, 2024
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