His goal against Germany in the final of the European Youth Championships was a little bit special but even in Cyprus two years ago it was hard to think solely of Alan Quinn in terms of his obviously abundant ball skills once you had heard him in the post-match sing songs.

Each night the players would sit around the pool back at their hotel and perform their party pieces. Quinn's was invariably an exuberant rendition of Christy Moore's Joxer Goes to Stuttgart and while there were quite a few of Brian Kerr's squad who enjoyed the limelight, every night it was the little midfielder from Clondalkin who stole the show. The singing, for the record, was awful but the performance was always good enough to steal the show.

At the time Quinn's delight at being at the heart of Ireland's success was obvious but even now he admits that it was a little hard for him to grasp just how quickly his career had suddenly started to progress. Twelve months earlier having apparently missed the proverbial boat to England he had been in the process of joining Cherry Orchard from Manor Town and hoping, at best, to move on from there to a club in the National League.

A tip-off from Brian Kerr to a Sheffield Wednesday official, however, led to a move to Hillsborough where the teenager initially struggled - caught he admits by the pace and more physical nature of the game.

A few weeks before the end of the season though, his chance arrived and Quinn - maybe because he is one of 15 children (nine boys and six girls) - was, as always, only too happy to perform.

"It all happened really fast," says Quinn who will be watching today's home game with Norwich from the stand for the first time this season because of a suspension, "It was very late in the season when Peter Shreeves, who was the assistant manager, came to see a youth game and I came on and scored. Because of that he brought me into the reserves and I came on and scored with them too. That's when the confidence really started to come for me and within a few weeks the senior team was going to Everton for the last game of the season and I got on for a couple of minutes. It was fantastic."

These days, after missing much of last season through injury, he's a regular in central midfield and, in a side that by necessity relies too heavily on the club's youngsters, he easily stands out as one of Wednesday's brightest prospects.

Too easily sometimes for manager Paul Jewell. This week the 21-year-old Dubliner was linked with a move to Chelsea and his manager, handed the task on his first day in the job of reducing the club's debt from £18 million to £10 million by selling whoever he could, knows that his bosses are unlikely to turn their noses up at a half decent offer.

Talk of interest from other clubs is no great surprise, though. Over the course of his 46 first team games Quinn has improved steadily and so far this season his manager admits that he has been shouldering far more than his share of the burden. Inevitably, the player doesn't see it that way.

"We've started off badly," says Quinn, "but even when things were going really badly last year I always enjoyed it when I was in. It was hard because we were losing silly games - like we were 3-1 up at Derby, the game was dead, and we still drew 3-3 - but I was learning a lot because there were a lot of good players in the team."

Several left during the summer and when Quinn says these days that "we've got a lot of young lads in the side now," it takes a second or two to realise that he means even younger than him. Still Jewell has steadied the ship somewhat and even managed to add some solid experience to the squad in the form of players like Ashley Westwood, Steve Harkness and Ian Hendon.

Quinn's performances, improved since being moved in from the left, are what have caught the eye though and while he has a habit of getting booked a little too often Kerr reckons that the positional switch will help him to chip in many more goals.

"He tended to score very important ones for us," says Kerr "but it was only one part of his game. He's got energy, he's inventive and he's always got a trick up his sleeve to get out of trouble when he needs it. He's a scrawny little fella but he's a great lad to have in a team and a wonderful character to have around any squad."

They are the sort of sentiments which Jewell readily endorses although when the Wednesday boss is asked about the transfer speculation he immediately becomes cagey. Pushed, he first generously praises the Irishman, then attempts to play his talent down as if he might still somehow keep his name from reaching some of those with the resources to prise him away. Eventually he settles on a line, announcing that "Alan Quinn loves Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield Wednesday loves Alan Quinn."

There's a hint of desperation about it all even if the basic sentiment happens to be true. With his club in a very tight financial corner, though, Jewell knows only too well that his chances of keeping the 21-year-old should a decent offer come in are slim. Chelsea - and others - after all could soon be learning to love Alan Quinn too - particularly if somebody tells him to keep the singing down.