Republic of Ireland manger Stephen Kenny admits that he's excited by the attacking options at his disposal as he prepares for the crucial Euro 2024 qualifier against France.
Kenny’s side welcome the World Cup finalists to the Aviva Stadium on 27 March, five days after a friendly with Latvia and the manager believes his side are in good shape, particularly up front.
The likes of Adam Idah, Michael Obafemi and Chiedozie Ogbene have all been in fine form for their clubs, while Evan Ferguson is making headlines in the Premier League with Brighton where he is currently averaging a goal every 129 minutes.
Since the golden age of Robbie Keane and Kevin Doyle, Ireland have often struggled to convert chances but going into the Euro 2024 qualifiers, Kenny is buoyant about his options up front.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, he said: "Two years ago, the profile of striker that we had, we had a certain profile. Now all of a sudden in the last two seasons, players have come through.
"Now all of a sudden in the last two seasons, players have come through. We have Adam Idah, Michael Obafemi, Chiedozie Ogbene, Troy Parrott and Evan Ferguson that have just emerged.
"So obviously we have different characteristics now, we have speed to hurt teams, we have players who can only get better. We also have other players to complement that like Will Keane, Scott Hogan and James Collins.
"The profile of player that has come through over the last two years is completely different to what we had and that gives us real options in terms of having real penetration in our play."
Much of the recent focus from Irish supporters has been on Ferguson who has been one of the stand-out performers in the Premier League since forcing his way into Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton side.
Kenny appears to be eager to keep Ferguson’s feet on the ground and not get carried away with the growing hype surrounding the player, but even still, he admits that he’s been impressed by the striker’s form.
"It’s been a meteoric rise for Evan," he said.
"A lot of the other players, you feel that international football has really benefitted their club career. Gavin Bazunu, Nathan Collins, Jayson Molumby, all those players that have come through, it’s really international football that has brought them to the forefront.
"Evan has not been really like that because he’s done it just himself, coming through the ranks, going straight to the Premier League and scoring goals.
"He missed out on key periods in the international window because of Covid. The Under-19s was cancelled in that period, he’s played a few games with the Under-21s and then come into our squad.
"At his club he’s done really well, he does the simple things well and he obviously has the ability to score goals.
"It’s a good start for him and it’s early in his career. He gives us another option and now there’s competition for places and that’s what we want."
While much of Kenny’s enthusiasm is on his attacking options, he confirmed that he’s expecting reinforcement in midfield in the shape of Celtic winger Mikey Johnston.
Recent reports have claimed that Johnston, who has played at under-age level for Scotland, but who qualifies for Ireland through his grandparents, was eager to make the switch to Kenny’s side and the manager confirmed that it’s a deal that’s all but done.
Johnston, who is currently on loan at Portuguese club Vitoria Guimaraes, may even be registered in time for this month’s games with Latvia and France.
Kenny said: "We’re waiting for confirmation from UEFA that it’s to be complete. Mikey, obviously his family are from Derry and he’s played in four Scottish Cup finals before he’s 22 for Celtic.
"He has characteristics that maybe we don’t have in the squad, a right-footed left-winger who can dribble and beat players, who is exciting and who has a good final pass.
"He’s been injured for a year and subsequently has missed out, Celtic have signed a lot of players in that period so he’s gone on loan to Portugal which is a good league, so he’s getting good experience there."
