Andy Moran's rise to the Republic of Ireland senior setup looks like it will happen sooner rather than later, with Stephen Kenny admitting he was "very tempted" to elevate the teenager into his squad for the upcoming Euros qualifiers against Greece and Gibraltar.
Brighton and Hove Albion prospect Moran is currently on loan at Blackburn Rovers, who play an attractive brand of football under Jon Dahl Tomasson.
It suits the technically gifted midfielder, who's turning a lot of heads in the Championship after adapting comfortably to a high, intensely competitive level.
And Kenny is a huge admirer. In the bowels of the Aviva Stadium, after he'd revealed his squad for next week's double-header, the manager waxed lyrcial about the 19-year-old.
"Andy Moran is an absolutely excellent player. Excellent. Very good," he said.
"I was tempted to bring him in for this game [against Greece], very tempted. But if he came in, would he make the squad? Then you are taking away from the Under-21s. We'll see about Gibraltar, but he is a very good player.
"He has not played much as a senior footballer. It's hard to judge him in Brighton’s Under-21s when you are watching those games, it’s hard to equate that with senior international level.
"He started off by coming on for Brighton, but his performances last week [for Blackburn], when he got his two goals, I was at that game and it was an absolutely fantastic performance.
"I know Cardiff made 10 changes, but that was a real standout performance and I think he is going to be an excellent player for Ireland."
"We're lucky to have him in this window and I’d imagine sooner rather than later he’ll get that senior call-up."
Under-21s manager Jim Crawford was on media duties soon after Kenny, having named his squad for next week's clash with Latvia.
He's been tracking Moran since his days at schoolboy club St Joseph's Boys, and is convinced he'll follow in the footsteps of his Brighton clubmate Evan Ferguson.
"He's played at Championship level, and he’s playing very well," Crawford said. "We’re lucky to have him in this window and I’d imagine sooner rather than later he’ll get that senior call-up.
"It’s funny... I came to the France game; we played against Iceland in the March window and I came.
"I sat a few seats away from Andy Moran, he was watching the game, which first of all I thought was great that you’ve got an Under-21s player on his day off who... he was at Brighton at the time, and he’s come and he’s watching his teammate Evan Ferguson play.
"I’m sort of looking down and him and I’m saying, 'it’ll certainly be you one day playing at the Aviva Stadium’. On behalf of the staff and myself we’re just delighted to have him and we’ll see what happens going forward."
The frustration for Kenny is that he's unlikely to be around long enough see both Moran and Ferguson fully flourish.
The FAI will make a decision on his future after the final game of the year, a November friendly against New Zealand, and though Ireland could actually still make the play-offs via their Nations League standings, there's no guarantee the Tallaght man would be kept on.
He therefore enters a sort of purgatory, desperate for positive results against Greece and Gibraltar to lift the mood, but aware that even two convincing wins might not make much difference.
"Listen, the reality is, although it's a slim chance, quite a slim chance, we still have a chance of qualifying and once that chance is there we have to fight until the end," he said when asked if he had any concerns about player motivation now the campaign looks dead in the water.
"We have to roll our sleeves up and fight. It would require Greece to beat Holland in Greece and us to win our two matches to bring it to the last game. As long as that chance is there, we must absolutely fight to do that. Speaking to the players, there won't be any lack of motivation."
And as for his own sense of motivation?
"I'm obviously very motivated to do well and work and ensure that we're as prepared as we can be for the campaign," he replied.
"I've got to reflect on everything but I thought if we play as well at home as we did against Holland and France, we'd beat a lot of teams. We need to bring that level of performance and even more against Greece.
"It's an important game, an international game in Dublin... a qualifier at home. We want to win it."
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