After seeing his Shamrock Rovers side overcome Bohemians in their derby clash last Friday night, Stephen Bradley was keen to praise the input of wide player Neil Farrugia.
The 23-year-old played a key role in the Hoops' opening goal at Dalymount Park, recycling possession before being at the end of the move to score his first goal of the season.
And speaking afterwards, Bradley described the former UCD player as "unplayable" before suggesting that "he has the potential to play for Ireland" one day should he continue his development.
Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny was at Dalymount to take in that performance and is certainly well aware of Farrugia's talents having included him on his standby list for last November's friendly matches and also capped him at under-21 level in March 2019.
But how close is he to making the next step in his development and contributing in the final third more consistently?
Speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast this week, former League of Ireland midfielders Conan Byrne and Paul Corry agreed that Farrugia has the potential to kick on.
Conan Byrne and Paul Corry joined Raf Diallo and James McMahon on this week's RTÉ Soccer Podcast. Watch this week's episode above.
"He's really, really talented. Injuries have stopped him from probably going to the next level in terms of perhaps getting an international cap while playing in this country," said Byrne.
"That's what I'd like to see, still playing at Shamrock Rovers and getting his cap at Ireland."
Byrne feels it's Farrugia's "football brain" that separates him from some of his peers.
"He's not just one-dimensional in terms of being a wide player. I'm sure he can play in a number of positions as well inside and he's very good in the air for his height as well," he said.
"He's a wonderful talent. I just hope that the injuries don't curtail his career. I know his hamstrings have been a bit of an issue over the last number of years but he's getting a good run of it now and hopefully he can kick on."
Corry pointed to the development template of Farrugia's former Shamrock Rovers team-mate Andy Lyons, whose goal threat from wing-back eventually yielded a transfer to Championship outfit Blackpool where he continues to contribute goals.
"We saw last year particularly with Andy Lyons when he played in that same position and how he was able to contribute in a number of different ways both defensively but also in opponent's boxes, and he got goals and he eventually got a move, so I think you can see a similar kind of trait in Neil," Corry said.
"They're both playing as inverted wing-backs and Neil has had to adapt to that position because he has been an out-and-out winger his whole career, particularly when he was at UCD and schoolboy with Belvedere.
"Whereas that wing-back position is one that has probably taken him a bit of time to learn and the injuries that Conan mentioned haven't helped.
"But now we're starting to see the potential that Stephen Bradley and the management have seen when he was at UCD. Physically he has absolutely everything to play at the top level."
While progression could open doors to the senior international scene in the future, Corry said Farrugia's style of play would make him an attractive proposition for suitors at club level in England or the continent especially should he add more goals and assists to his game.
"If he does that, I don't think he'll be here too long," he said.
"As long as he's able to stay injury-free and continues on that upward trajectory, there are certainly a number of teams in the UK or even in Europe - I know Neil is a fluent French-speaker, his family are from that neck of the woods - I wouldn't be surprised if he got a move in that direction.
"It all comes down to a bit of luck to stay fit and he needs to continue to improve. But the parts of his game that he does quite easily are actually quite rare in the English game and also in Europe.
"I hope he stays fit, I hope he continues and Stephen Kenny loves a winger so don't be surprised if he's in the next international squad."
Watch Shamrock Rovers v Shelbourne in the League of Ireland live on Friday from 7.35pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on the RTÉ News app or RTÉ.ie/Sport
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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