Heimir Hallgrimsson’s first Ireland squad contained very few surprises, with the 23 players chosen for the upcoming game against England and Greece largely similar to the ones selected by John O’Shea during his interim spell in charge.
The squad contained many of the Ireland mainstays we have become accustomed to seeing down through the years, as well as some of our more promising young talents such as Evan Ferguson and Nathan Collins. In terms of absentees, the only regulars to miss out came in the form of injured pair Josh Cullen and Gavin Bazunu.
When it came to the most eye-catching inclusion, that tag belonged to Kasey McAteer.
The English-born Leicester City winger has been included in an Ireland squad for the first time, with his international eligibility sorted out in time to face the nation of his birth at the Aviva next month.
Kasey McAteer receives first call-up having completed his paperwork and received FIFA international clearance 🇮🇪
The @LCFC winger goes into the squad for the England & Greece matches 🤩
Great news Kasey! 💚 pic.twitter.com/cV4Im2asMz
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) August 29, 2024
While Heimir Hallgrimsson is the man that is set to benefit from McAteer’s inclusion, the process to get him into the Ireland squad is one that began under the previous regime.
READ HERE: Lee Carsley Admits England Interim Role As Important To Him As Ireland Career
Call-Up Of English-Born Winger Marks Kenny’s Final Ireland Contribution
When Stephen Kenny first came into the Ireland job, one of his biggest concerns was the lack of wingers at his disposal. It was an area where Ireland had failed to produce new players for quite a few years, with those in the squad at that time coming towards the end of their careers.
Kenny’s method of tackling the issue was to recruit Irish eligible players into the senior squad.
Chiedozie Ogbene was the first one, with the Nigerian-born then Rotherham United player securing an Irish passport and being drafted into the senior setup. Mikey Johnston was another, with the Scottish-born player making his debut in 2023.
His final attempt to bolster that area of the squad came in the form of Kasey McAteer. Kenny revealed back in October than an unnamed Championship winger was about to declare for Ireland.
I’ve always liked wing play and wingers, there has been an absence of that. Some of my early days, we’ve tried to do it, players that gave everything were mainly playing in League 1 at the time.
We’ve had Chiedozie coming on the scene and doing brilliant. Mikey Johnston, he needs games. The tempo of that game (Gibraltar) isn’t Greece and Holland. He is a talent, he will be a good player for Ireland.
We’ve another winger due to declare. I’m not sure the paperwork is done yet. He’s playing in the Championship.
It was soon revealed that this player was McAteer, although his Irish debut would then be delayed on a few occasions due to some injury issues.
It remains to be seen how much of an impact the 22-year old will have with Ireland, although he comes into the squad as a very highly rated prospect. Not only did he recently pen a new long-term deal with Leicester City, but a number of other Premier League clubs are said to be closely monitoring his progress.
Stephen Kenny did not do enough on the pitch to justify keeping him on as Ireland, but this latest addition to the squad is another example of how he did set the team up for future success.
SEE ALSO: Hallgrimsson Presser Raises Questions About John O’Shea Role In Ireland Setup
