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30th May 2025
11:11am BST
Ireland boss, Heimir Hallgrímsson, announced his initial Ireland squad for June friendlies against Senegal and Luxembourg, around two weeks ago. Seamus Coleman and Sammie Szmodics have since dropped out due to injury, with Andrew Moran coming into the team as well.
The squad includes four new faces with John Patrick Finn, Killian Phillips, Josh Keeley, and Josh Honohan all in with a shout for their first Ireland caps.
Hallgrímsson has been in talks with adding another potential new face in the near future. He has recently met with England under-21 international Liam Delap to see whether the Ipswich striker would potentially declare for Ireland.
The Ireland boss was asked if there was any interest on the player's side in making the switch.
Hallgrímsson said: "Well, he didn’t say f**k off.
“Just told him we would love to have him in our camp."
He added: "But his focus is the [England] under-21s at the moment. What will happen after that we will have to wait and see."
Delap qualifies for Ireland through his father Rory, who won 11 caps for Ireland between 1998 and 2004. The Ireland manager is a fan of the number nine, who scored 12 goals in the Premier League for the relegated Tractor Boys.
The Icelander said: "Liam has good qualities, everybody knows that."
He added: "Obviously we are always hoping the good players will join us."
The England under-21 striker's form for Ipswich has attracted the interest of many clubs also. Delap is expected to join Chelsea, over the likes of Manchester United, after they triggered Ipswich’s €26.4 million release clause.
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