Ireland teenage prospect Aaron Connolly made the long-list for the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers but missed out on a place in Mick McCarthy's final squad for the double header against Georgia and Switzerland.
The Brighton & Hove Albion forward has featured for his club in recent Premier League matches, while he has also started games in the League Cup for the Seagulls.
The Galway native has also impressed in recent games for Stephen Kenny’s Ireland Under-21 side, however, senior manager McCarthy believes that he is still behind a few players in the pecking order ahead of the vital two games.
McCarthy added that he did not want to take the 19-year-old away from the Under-21s, who have an important qualifier against Italy next week, and not use him in either qualifier.
However, the manager did confirm that the exciting prospect could still be called upon, having named Connolly in the 41-man list that was sent out to the respective clubs.
"I’m not sure it is a game for debutants," said McCarthy when asked about the Galway native.
"I’ll see what happens at the weekend. He was in my 41 that I released to the clubs so there is still the option to call him up if I need to. TC [Terry Connor] saw him last week against Villa and was very impressed with him."
McCarthy has also seen the player in action and while the lively forward has caught the eye, the manager explained that he felt there were others ahead of him on merit.
"The best I have seen him play was wide on the left against Montenegro and he was excellent. But I am not going to put him in in front of James McClean, that’s for sure. If Didsy [David McGoldrick] is fit, I am not going to play him in front of him.
"James Collins and Sean Maguire are playing in the Championship and scoring regularly, so I’m not sure I would put him in ahead of them. Callum Robinson is playing in the Premier League...
"I’ve got Scott Hogan who made a real impact when he went on as a substitute and helped change the game in Denmark."
"[Connolloy] is available to me. But I’m not going to take him and not use him, unless something happens and I thought he might be a threat as a sub, which he could be."
The manager has spoken before about impact players and when it comes to the centre-forward department, he admitted that he is more likely to call on players who have been scoring at club level.
"He is an option but there are players in front of him," continued McCarthy.
"And I sometimes think that asking me about him could be a bit detrimental to the players I have picked.
"There is a thing about continuity with a squad, when they are all together and you have a good squad of players who all interact well with each other and train well with each other...
"We have had good results, so just keep that going and let’s see what happens."
