When Damien Duff surprisingly left his post as part of Stephen Kenny's Ireland backroom team earlier this year, a number of names were thrown into the the mix as his replacement.
The job would ultimately go to Anthony Barry, who was certainly a surprise appointment. His name had not really been suggested prior to that but there is little doubt that recruiting the highly thought of Chelsea coach was a coup for Ireland.
John O'Shea was another name mentioned at the time, although he has been part of Reading's coaching setup since retirement.
Lee Carsley was also seen as an option, although it was always going to be difficult to lure him from his post at the English FA. The former Everton midfielder has been in charge of England's U20 side and was also overseeing their development programme for 18-20 years old.
The move ultimately never came to fruition, with the 47-year old now set to receive a major promotion.
Both Talksport and Football Insider are reporting that Lee Carsley is set to be appointed as England U21 manager.
𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆: talkSPORT understands that Lee Carsley will be the next under-21's England manager.
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Aidy Boothroyd had previously held the post since 2016, but resigned earlier this year after England's disappointing group stage exit at the European Championships.
Both Paul Tisdale and Nicky Butt were also interviewed for the U21 job, with Carsley now looking like the most likely option. A deal is reportedly set to be announced at some point this week.
The 40-cap Ireland international has previously managed Coventry City (caretaker), Birmingham City (caretaker) and Brentford, also coaching at the likes of Manchester City before moving into the FA's setup on a full-time basis.
Considering their philosophy of promotion from within, if Carsley performs well in his new role than it is not unimaginable that we could see him take charge of England one day.
It's a pity the FAI couldn't have convinced him to come on board.
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