Keith Treacy has warned that expectations should not be thrown onto Jaden Umeh too quickly after the 18-year-old's call-up to the Republic of Ireland squad.
Heimir Hallgrimsson named the Benfica winger in his 21-strong contingent for the upcoming training camp in Murcia, Spain.
Umeh, who was part of the Ireland team at last November's FIFA U17 World Cup, could win a first cap in next Saturday's friendly against Grenada.
But speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast, Treacy said he hoped that Irish fans and media cool the jets when it comes to applying lofty expectations and preached patience even though he agrees that Umeh falls into the high potential category.
"I really like him. He's someone that when I look at him, being a winger, he really does whet my appetite and believe me I think his ceiling is so high," he said.
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"I also feel like I've been on a similar path where people start throwing the gauntlet in front of you and thinking, 'if you don't this, you're going to be a failure'. Leave him be.
"Just leave him be. I'm really, really excited by him. It's great that he's in the squad at 18 years of age.
"He's really quick, really strong, very direct, can win headers because he's a tall winger. But his last game was for Benfica under-19s.
"So it's like we're putting the cart before the horse. I expect big things from him, having seen what I've seen, (he's a) very, very impressive young lad. But that's all he is.
"That doesn't pay the bills at this moment in time. It was only the back end of 2025 when he was playing for the Irish under-17s.
"He's now Ireland under-21s, so he's gradually going through the gears and every hurdle that's been put in front of him, he looks very capable of playing at that level.
"But international football - I know Jose Mourinho has spoken about him (about) training with the (Benfica) first team, all these things are great - but he hasn't felt the full power of Benfica's first team yet in terms of a competitive game.
"And I feel like we've done this with Evan Ferguson, we've done it with Troy Parrott, we've done it with Aaron Connolly. Just leave the lad, let him progress at his own rate and don't throw the whole weight of the media on his shoulders because it can be really detrimental to a player's future and progression."
However, Treacy did not disagree with Hallgrimsson including Umeh in the training camp squad.
"It's just a chance to have a closer look at him. The Irish public should get excited about him but don't throw the weight of the world on him," he added.
