Jessie Stapleton has every chance of becoming an established member of the Republic of Ireland's starting line-up in the near future, according to her former club team-mate Rachel Graham.
The 20-year-old played a starring role for Ireland in the 4-0 win over Greece in the UEFA Women's Nations League last Friday, excelling in both boxes as she helped to keep a clean sheet and with a headed goal to cap it off at the other end.
It was a display that earned the Dubliner the player of the match award, having adjusted to being sprung into the starting line-up after captain Katie McCabe's calf strain sparked a reshuffle of the back four in Crete.
Stapleton, who is currently plying her trade at Sunderland on loan from West Ham, has long been regarded as a rising star and Shelbourne's Graham witnessed her early promise at Tolka Park as she recounted on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast.
"I actually coached Jessie when she was under-15 for the Leinster Schools team and I just spotted her straight away, like 'this girl is something special' and she had been spotted well before that and then she came to Shelbourne at 16," Graham recalled.
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"Then genuinely by the age of 17, in her second year, we looked to her as a senior player in our dressing room.
"The way she spoke, the way she conducted herself, how she trained, how she played, she was just way beyond her years.
"She was so professional, she was performing, one of our best players every week. You could rely on her and not very often can you rely on a 16-/17-year-old.
"We've spoken a long time now about Jessie's potential and Jessie being one for the future. But I think it's now.
"I think she's shown what she can do. There wasn't a whole lot (of defending against Greece) to do but she sniffed out every bit of danger, she was in the right positions.
"I've seen her scoring a few headers and it wasn't a one-off. She's done it plenty of times. You can see how good she is on the ball.
"Give her a few more games. If she can perform this way consistently in the next three or four games, I see her being the starting centre-half and I don't see anyone else being able to take it off her for many, many years."
While Stapleton has filled in as a defensive midfielder at times for Ireland, Graham added that she sees the 11-time cap's long-term future further back the pitch.
"Eileen (Gleeson) would have played her in midfield but I just think at this level, I don't think she gets away with playing midfield," she said.
"She's probably not the most mobile player or agility player but at centre-half you can read the game easier, you can step onto the ball and not get twisted and turned as much.
"So I think at this level, she's centre-half. I think she did well when she played midfield but I just think her position is centre-half."
It adds another intriguing layer to the battle for starting spots in an area of depth for Ireland. With Louise Quinn to come back from injury, Anna Patten quickly establishing herself as first choice and Megan Campbell's left-footedness an option manager Carla Ward has been interested in exploring, Caitlin Hayes - a firm favourite during Eileen Gleeson's tenure - has fallen down the pecking order.
Since Ward has taken charge, Brighton & Hove Albion defender Hayes has found herself playing more of a bit-part role at international level, although the manager has insisted that the defender remains very much part of her thoughts.
"That's the thing about football, it's what the manager thinks," said Graham.
"It's what (Ward) wants and what she thinks is best. So you can go from starting every week under Eileen and then a new manager comes in and then it's a fresh start for everyone.
"And I'm sure it's tough for (Hayes) to take and she's got her new move now to Brighton and probably thought, 'this might spring me on further', but it really hasn't done that.
"To be fair, Jessie has come in and done really well. She's waited for her time under Carla. Anna Patten hasn't done anything to get herself out of the team so it's probably going to be a bit of a waiting game now for Caitlin.
"It's going to be maybe an injury or someone is going to have to play badly for a couple of games for her to get back in."
Watch Republic of Ireland v Greece in the Women's Nations League on Tuesday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live commentary on 2fm's Game On
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