Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson says teenager Victor Ozhianvuna could link up with the Boys in Green later this month after learning of his availability through media comments from Shamrock Rovers boss Stephen Bradley.
Hallgrimsson included nine uncapped players in his Republic of Ireland squad for the upcoming training camp and friendly against Grenada (16 May) in Murcia.
A subsequent squad for the friendlies against Qatar (28 May at Aviva Stadium) and Canada (6 June in Montreal) will be named following the game against Grenada.
Hallgrimsson has opted not to call up any current League of Ireland players for the first camp given it is mid-season, although some may come into consideration for the games within the FIFA window against Qatar and Canada.
Speaking after the €2m Arsenal-bound player starred in the Hoops' 4-1 win over Drogheda United, Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley called for the 17-year-old to be drafted in, insisting he would be happy to allow Ozhianvuna to miss a league match against Dundalk if it was required as the Grenada game is outside the regular international window and comes just 24 hours after a full round of games.
"There’s no one that can tell me that kid shouldn’t be in the Ireland squad," he said.
"You don’t want to be blooding him in games that you have to win. I think they should put him in now so when the future comes, he’s ready. I promise you get him in that camp and in 10 minutes he’ll show what he is about."
Responding to Bradley’s comments today, Hallgrimsson clarified that he didn’t expect League of Ireland players to be available for the Grenada friendly, adding that he "might" still select the youngster as he expects to add one or two faces for the Qatar and Canada matches.
"We've been watching him, of course," Hallgrimsson told RTÉ Sport. "He hasn't made our Under-21s yet and I surely expect him to be there soon.
"We didn't plan to have players in season for this camp, but with bringing in so many new faces and also experienced players from our squad, we open spot for the May/June window as well.
"Victor is just a good player, even though he is young, he is just a good player. If he is ready for the first-team, we will have to wait and see.
"But he is a good name in the mix. If he is available, we might pick him.
"He wasn't in the frame until I heard this last night. We didn't plan to take players from the League of Ireland for this camp. It is not Stephen who is picking the squad, it's me.
"We only announced 21 players today and we have a place for adding one or two players in the squad. I think he is one of the players who has a really high potential. Whether he is ready for national first-team, we wait and see."
Last October it was confirmed that Ozhianvuna will move to Arsenal when he turns 18 for a guaranteed fee believed to be in the region of €2m, with the potential for an even bigger payday with add-ons and a reported 20% sell-on clause.
The record League of Ireland fee eclipses the €1.7m deal that saw Mason Melia join Tottenham Hotspur from St Patrick’s Athletic.
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