Teenage striker Mason Melia is set to be named in the Republic of Ireland squad for the upcoming friendlies against Qatar and Canada.
Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrímsson revealed that Melia will be fast-tracked into the senior panel when Qatar visit the Aviva Stadium on Thursday, May 28th and for a friendly against Canada in Montreal on Saturday, June 6th.
The 18-year-old had struggled with a back injury since he completed a €1.9 million move from St Patrick’s Athletic to Tottenham Hotspur last January but looked sharp on his return this month with goals against Chelsea and Brighton in the Premier League under-21 playoffs.
Melia scored 21 goals in 76 appearances in the League of Ireland for St Pat’s and transferred that form to the Ireland under-21s last season, with three goals in six caps.
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“I have to be honest, I haven’t seen him play for Tottenham’s under-21s in their last games, but Jim [Crawford, Ireland under-21 manager] has,” said Hallgrímsson during a training session at La Finca resort in Spain ahead of Saturday’s friendly against Grenada in Murcia.
Crawford has temporarily replaced Paddy McCarthy as Ireland’s training ground coach for this week’s warm-weather camp as the latter is busy with his day job at Crystal Palace.
“Obviously I saw Mason last season in the league and in Europe, and he played really well,” said Hallgrímsson. “He has the qualities that we are looking for in a sense of his running in behind. He’s a hard-working kid, he will fight for every scrap.
“Hopefully he will get a run of games and start preseason well, hopefully at Tottenham, and hopefully they will be in the (Premier League).”
Hallgrímsson is content to watch Victor Ozhianvuna from afar for now. Sixteen months younger than Melia, Ozhianvuna will continue his development at Shamrock Rovers and with Crawford’s under-21s.
Arsenal have secured Ozhianvuna on a four-and-a-half year contract from January 2027, with Rovers receiving an initial €2 million fee.
“We are not looking for a midfielder. We have Conor Coventry, we have [Jayson] Molumby, we have Rory [Finneran], we have Andy Moran, we have Jason Knight, so we didn’t need a midfielder.”
Finneran has made an impact during his first call-up to the Ireland squad. Given the 18-year-old was born in England, he should be capped off the bench against Grenada on Saturday, mainly to avoid a repeat of the Declan Rice situation.
In 2018, Rice was capped three times by former Ireland manager Martin O’Neill before an approach from then England manager Gareth Southgate convinced him to change his international allegiance. The Arsenal midfielder has gone on to win 76 caps for England.
“At the very least we need to be more strategic in how we see the future,” said Hallgrímsson. “Obviously for me, as a first-team coach, you tend to think short-term, ‘I need to win the game tomorrow’ instead of thinking four, five years ahead. All of these camps and the January camp should be about thinking long-term.”
Finneran made his debut for Blackburn Rovers at 15 before moving to Newcastle United in 2024.
“Rory has impressed, his qualities are excellent,” Hallgrímsson added. “He is good on the ball. You can see he has not played at this high, high speed, but everything he does is quality. I think it is not long before we see him playing senior football day in, day out.
“We think he is the one to be looked at in a camp like this, like Jaden Umeh.”
Umeh, another teenager with enormous potential, withdrew from La Finca as the Benfica under-19s required him for their Uefa Youth League qualifying campaign.
“We just want to see where they are and if we can help them to take the next step a bit quicker. That is selfish thinking, but it is beneficial for them as well. Maybe it brings their attention to their [club] manager and maybe he will play them earlier than otherwise. But the warning is there for sure for high potential players.”
There are at least four League of Ireland players included in the provisional squad for Qatar and Canada. Bohemians midfielder Dawson Devoy, Cork City goalkeeper Conor Brann, and Roves goalkeeper Ed McGinty and midfielder Matt Healy are all in contention for selection.
Hallgrímsson will announce the squad for the two fixtures on Sunday.
