Noel King has named midfielders Jake Doyle Hayes and Des Hutchinson in his squad for the upcoming Under-21 European Championship qualifiers against Norway and Israel with the pair both having made senior debuts for their English clubs in recent weeks.
Aston Villa’s Doyle Hayes, from Cavan, is just 18 but started the Championship side’s League Cup game against Wigan in August and has since played 90 minutes in the second round defeat by Middlesborough. He recently signed a new three year contract with the club.
Hutchinson, a 20 year-old from Waterford, played the entirety of Brighton’s narrow defeat by Bournemouth, also in the League Cup.
Trevor Clarke of Shamrock Rovers and Galway United’s Rory Hale are also added to the squad that travelled to Azerbaijan where King’s side, who had already beaten Kosovo at home, won 3-1 to go top of their qualifying group.
“We go into the games top of the group and the squad have shown real promise in our first two matches,” says King, whose side have yet to meet top seeds Germany. “The challenge now is to keep those standards high and keep improving through what will be two difficult games. Both Norway and Israel have qualified for the European Championships in recent years so we need to be at our very best to get the positive results we require.
The games will both be played in Tallaght with next Thursday’s against Norway kicking off at 7.45 while the Israel match is at 3.30 the following Monday.
Republic of Ireland U21 squad (v Norway and Israel)
Goalkeepers: Kieran O'Hara (Manchester United), Liam Bossin (Nottingham Forest).
Defenders: Danny Kane (Huddersfield), Ryan Sweeney (Stoke City, on loan at Bristol Rovers), Shaun Donnellan (West Bromwich Albion, on loan at Walsall), Declan Rice (West Ham United), Corey Whelan (Liverpool), Ryan Delaney (Burton Albion, on loan at Cork City), Trevor Clarke (Shamrock Rovers)
Midfielders: Josh Cullen (West Ham, on loan at Bolton Wanderers), Harry Charsley (Everton), Conor Shaughnessy (Leeds United), Liam Kinsella (Walsall), Jake Mulraney (Inverness Caledonian Thistle), Connor Ronan (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Olamide Shodipo (QPR), Connor Dimaio (Chesterfield), Rory Hale (Galway United), Jake Doyle Hayes (Aston Villa), Dessie Hutchinson (Brighton and Hove Albion).
Forwards: Reece Grego Cox (QPR), Ryan Manning (QPR), Ronan Curtis (Derry City), Joe Quigley (Bournemouth, on loan at Newport County).
