When the latest Republic of Ireland squad was about to be named last week, the main point of intrigue was whether Sammie Szmodics would be included.
Stephen Kenny had first brought him into the Boys in Green fold for a June 2021 training camp which was ultimately curtailed by injury, while the 28-year-old's international clearance would eventually be confirmed earlier this year.
The Blackburn Rovers player has been in good goalscoring form in the Championship this season, netting seven goals in 11 games whilst operating as a false nine or attacking midfielder.
But that seemingly wasn't enough for him to earn inclusion in Kenny's original squad for the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Greece and Gibraltar.
However, injury misfortune for the in-form Aaron Connolly has now led to a belated call-up for Szmodics ahead of the Greeks' visit to the Aviva Stadium on Friday (live on RTÉ2, RTÉ Player and RTÉfm's Game On).
But former Ireland and Blackburn midfielder Keith Treacy anticipates that his on-field role will be limited, at least initially, given the current positions he tends to pick up at club level, where he plays centrally either as a deep-lying forward or supporting the central striker, while Evan Ferguson is primed to lead the Irish line with either one or two wide forwards beside him like Chiedozie Ogbene.
"I would struggle to see him starting. Out of all of the forward players we have, I do think Stephen Kenny will stick with three up front," Treacy told the RTÉ Soccer Podcast on Monday after hearing news of Szmodics' addition to the squad.
"I think the one that's going to be left (to lead the line) is going to be Evan Ferguson. When he's fit, he's going to be up there.
"So I think Szmodics will be in direct competition with Ferguson. I don't think Kenny will play two and out strikers.
"So that to me would say Szmodics will be a replacement for Ferguson.
"Will he play him on the wing? I'm really not too sure with the likes of Ogbene and all these quicker players that can get close to Ferguson.
"Szmodics is a brilliant finisher playing really well in the Championship. It's just a shame for us that he's in direct comparison with Ferguson.
"If (Kenny) were to play the two of them, it would be very, very brave but given what the Greeks did to us in the first game and how well they kept the ball and how quickly they caused us problems, I would imagine we won't play two (centre-forwards) up front. It will just be Ferguson with two wingers trying to get as close to him as possible.
"So for me, Szmodics, brilliant to see him in but we might see just a couple of minutes of him at best (against Greece)."
With Ireland's defence troubled on the left side by Greece, Treacy added that Kenny will almost certainly stick to a back five and tipped Celtic's Liam Scales, who has been playing in the Champions League this season, to join Nathan Collins and Shane Duffy as part of the central trio with Matt Doherty and Ryan Manning of Southampton in the wing-back roles.
"(Kenny) was speaking about the left side and James McClean and he kept bringing Ryan Manning's name up, that Ryan's playing well," he said.
"Ryan was playing well last season as well. He played really, really well and couldn't get into the Irish team.
"So I think Manning (to start against Greece) even though he didn't play well against the Dutch or the French."
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Watch Republic of Ireland v Greece in Euro 2024 qualifying on Friday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live radio commentary on 2fm's Game On
