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Martin O’Neill has confirmed that Cork City striker Sean Maguire is on his radar.
The 23 year old striker has been in blistering form for Cork this season, and scouts from Preston and Celtic have been to watch the prolific forward in recent weeks.
The Rebel Army have made a 100% start to the SSE Airtricity season, and Maguire’s goals have been key to John Caulfield’s team’s momentum.
However, speaking at today’s launch of the 2017 FAI’s Sports Direct sponsored Summer Soccer Schools programme, the Irish manager says that he’s not sure if it’s “the ideal time” to bring inexperienced players into the squad ahead of Ireland’s fixtures in June.
Ireland will take on Mexico and Uruguay in international friendlies before hosting Austria in a crucial World Cup qualifier on June 11th at the Aviva Stadium.
“It’s been a problem position for us and in the last 15 years there’s only really Robbie Keane who has come up and scored the requisite number of goals,†O’Neill said of his striking options.
“Otherwise, we’ve had to share them around although Jon Walters did very well for us in the European Championship, as has James McClean more recently from a wide position.
“We had an opportunity to play some new players after the recent game against Wales but I’m not so sure in the lead up to these games that it’s the ideal time to try out some very young players who haven’t been involved before. It’s the lead up to a very important World Cup game.”
“In terms of bringing somebody in, though; I wouldn’t be averse to that. I have plucked players from the League of Ireland before.â€
O’Neill selected Dundalk ‘keeper Gary Rodgers for his squad last year, and former Dundalk duo Daryl Horgan and Andy Boyle made their international debuts last time out against Iceland.
