James McClean will bid farewell to a stellar international career when he takes to the pitch for the Republic of Ireland's friendly fixture with New Zealand on Tuesday night.
And as one man walks away, another is waiting in the wings – and on the wing, as it happens – ready and willing to kick-start his own international career.
Festy Ebosele has become a senior squad regular over the past three months, and now, following a couple of impressive cameos in the green, the young Wexford man is looking to break into the starting XI.
McClean has been capped over 100 times for his country, and while that international journey took him to Euro 2012 and the 2016 edition in France, and saw him score the winning goals in excellent away wins against Austria and Wales, he was also inspiring a young Ebosele, looking on from afar, coming through the schoolboy ranks at Moyne Rangers.
"It was James McClean I looked up to in the Irish team," said Ebosele, speaking at a press conference ahead of this weekend’s Euro 2024 qualifier against the Netherlands in Amsterdam.
"He was quick. He liked to dribble past players and get crosses in. That's what I really liked, and he was exciting to watch, so that's why I looked up to him.
"I spoke to him after his post on the retirement and he said he would be back in for the New Zealand game so I'm looking forward to seeing him again."
"When I was younger, I was more of a winger. [Now I’m] still an attacking player, I can play on the wing or right back," added Ebosele, who possesses the potential and lightning speed to bring a similar attacking threat into the Ireland set-up.
Coming through the academy of Bray Wanderers as a 14-year-old, Ebosele signed for Derby County in 2018 and went on to be capped at underage level with the Ireland Under-16s, 17s, 19s and 21s, before breaking through to the senior squad.
After four years with Derby, Ebosele was affected by the club’s administration issues and ended up signing for Udinese in the summer of 2022.
Playing under Wayne Rooney for two years of his stay at the Pride Park club, the manager was a big fan of the emerging young Irishman, and while he believed that Ebosele had a big career in front of him, he felt that the move to Udinese was the wrong one for the player.
"Yeah, I did speak to him," explained Ebosele. "He said to me to consider all my options, and I did. I still felt Udinese was the best one for me."
Leaving the San Siro with a 1-0 victory against AC Milan earlier this month, in a game where Ebosele won the vital penalty for his side, might suggest that the former manager got things a little bit wrong.
In fact, in his second season at the Udine club, Ebosele is now a regular starter for the club, playing in a right wing-back position, and is attracting even more attention to himself having been recorded as one of the fastest players in Serie A.
By his own admission, there was a certain amount of adjustment needed when moving from the red-hot, relentless atmosphere of the English Championship to the star-studded top flight of Italian football.
But Ebosele believes that he has adapted well over the past two seasons and is very comfortable playing in one of the elite European leagues.
"It took me a few good months to actually understand the difference," said the Enniscorthy native. "Once I adapted to it, towards the end of last season, I was able to get more playing time and started doing well. This season, I've had a full year to really know the style of play.
"[My physicality] was a disadvantage at the start as I was flying into tackles and everything, but now, I can use it well.
"I definitely feel I've come a long way, it's a different style of playing in Italy, so I've had to adapt and add some new aspects to my game, and I think I've done that in the year and a half that I've been there now.
"In England the style in the Championship suited me a bit more, it was more physical, but I've learned now the Italian style and I really do enjoy it, it's definitely helped me with my football."
Ebosele was also quick to adapt off the pitch, realising the importance of being able to speak the local language in order to fully integrate into the dressing room, and perhaps more importantly, to converse with a manager who could not speak English.
"My first manager didn’t speak any English so there was a language barrier," said Ebosele. "I had to learn it to speak to him. It’s good to be into the culture, makes you adapt better. I can speak good Italian now.
"And my team was definitely very welcoming to me. There are a lot of different players from different countries, but everyone gets on well with me and I really enjoy it."
Ebosele actually made his Udinese debut at the San Siro last season, while his Ireland introduction was a similarly big occasion, coming off the bench in Paris in September for the last 10 minutes against the World Cup runners-up.
A second cap would arrive just a few days later, again against esteemed opposition, as Ebosele was sent on late in the game looking to salvage something from a 2-1 deficit to the Dutch.
The Netherlands would hold on for the win, but Ebosele is now hoping to play a part in the return leg as Ireland end their Euro 2024 campaign in Amsterdam on Saturday night.
"It's been good. I've been involved now in the last three camps," said Ebosele. "I love all the players, love all the coaching staff and hopefully I can make a name for myself here.
"It was amazing to make my debut there [in Paris]. They have got some of the best players in the world. I wish I could have played longer, but it was a very good moment for me.
"Yeah hopefully," he added, when asked if he was eager to line out in the green on Saturday night.
"I'm ready, ready to play, whatever minutes I get, whether I get any minutes, I'm looking forward to it."
Watch Norway Under-21 vs Republic of Ireland Under-21 in Euro 2025 qualifying on Friday from 4.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player and follow a live blog on www.rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app
Watch the Netherlands v Republic of Ireland on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player this Saturday from 7pm, follow a live blog on www.rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to commentary on RTÉ 2fm.
