Dundalk winger Michael Duffy has said he has his heart set on the Republic of Ireland as Martin O'Neill prepares to call him up for the November friendly with Northern Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.
The in-form Lilywhites winger, who scored his 11th goal of the season on Tuesday, has been one of the the most eye-catching players in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division this year.
Last week, O’Neill told RTÉ Sport of his interest in Duffy who is a former underage Northern Ireland international.
"I've got a lot of time for him," said the manager. "I think he's an exceptionally talented player. It didn't happen for him at Celtic. He wouldn't be the first young player to have gone over there and not come through.
"He definitely has the ability to go past players, it's nice to see. I've seen him on both types of surfaces - on what I would consider the normal pitches and I've seen him play at Dundalk on the artificial surface.
"He's a definite talent, there's no question about that."
Pick that out! What a goal from Michael Duffy. @DundalkFC lead Levadia Tallinn 2-1 at Oriel Park (3-1 on aggregate) and you'll do very well to find a better finish anywhere in Europe tonight than this peach of a volley #RTEsoccer pic.twitter.com/ArDW8MxkAt
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 19, 2018
Duffy is awaiting paperwork to process to become eligible for a call-up, and it is hoped that will come for the fixture on 15 November.
The winger told Dundalk Sport yesterday that he would jump at being included in the Repubilc squad: "I was told he was going to ring me.
"I was waiting for the call patiently and I was obviously buzzing afterwards. Once I’d spoken to Martin, I definitely have my heart set on the Republic of Ireland.
"It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was a boy and getting a phone call from him to say he was interested in taking me in the squad, I couldn’t believe it, it was a great achievement for me for that to happen.
"He just said he was watching me, likes the way I play and is keen to get me involved in the squad.
"Martin has obviously given players from the league chances. Daryl Horgan was in the squad when he was here and stuff like that. It’s obviously harder getting into the squad from this league but Martin has trusted a few players to do it, which is obviously good.
"I’m not sure how long it takes or even what needs to be done. I haven’t had to sign anything yet. I’ll be happy to sign but I don’t know what way it works.
"Obviously, that (game with Northern Ireland) would be some game to play in if it did come to it."
