Ryan Johansson named in Ireland Under-21 squad for Marbella trip

Jim Crawford’s side will to play Switzerland, Australia and Denmark in friendly games

Ireland Under-21 boss Jim Crawford has named his 26-man squad for a hat-trick of friendlies in Marbella against Switzerland, Australia and Denmark.

Crawford has given seven players their first call-ups, among them Sevilla’s Ryan Johansson.

20-year-old Johansson, formerly of Bayern Munich, represented Ireland at Under-19 level and has since played for Luxembourg Under-21s - he was recently cleared by Fifa to switch back to Ireland.

Also included is Getafe midfielder John Patrick, as well as Sheffield Wendesday’s Ciaran Brennan, Derby County’s Festy Ebosele and Lincoln City’s Sean Roughan.

READ MORE

Crawford’s side face Switzerland on May 30th, Austria on June 2nd and Denmark on June 5th during their camp in Spain.

They then take on Bosnia & Herzegovina and Luxembourg in qualifiers for the 2023 European Championships in September.

Ireland’s first two fixtures will be shown live on Premier Sports 1.

Republic of Ireland Under-21s squad

Goalkeepers: Sam Blair (Norwich City), Brian Maher (Bray Wanderers), Dan Rose (Schalke 04).

Defenders: Ciaran Brennan (Sheffield Wednesday), Festy Ebosele (Derby County), Shane Flynn (Leicester City), Andy Lyons (Bohemians), Oisin McEntee (Newcastle United), Mark McGuinness (Arsenal), Lewis Richards (Wolves), Sean Roughan (Lincoln City).

Midfielders: John Joe Patrick Finn Benoa (Getafe), Luca Connell (Celtic), Conor Coventry (West Ham United), Dawson Devoy (Bohemians), Alex Gilbert (Brentford), Conor Grant (Rochdale), Ryan Johansson (Sevilla), Conor Noss (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Louie Watson (Derby County).

Forwards: Jonathan Afolabi (Celtic), Will Ferry (Southampton), Joshua 'JJ' Kayode (Rotherham United), Gavin Kilkenny (Bournemouth), Colm Whelan (UCD), Tyreik Wright (Aston Villa).

Ireland Under-21 fixtures

May 30th - Switzerland v Republic of Ireland, 11am, Dama de Noche Football Centre, Marbella, Spain (Live on Premier Sports 1/ FreeSports)

June 2nd - Australia v Republic of Ireland, 12pm, Marbella Football Centre, Marbella, Spain. (Live on Premier Sports 1/ FreeSports)

June 5th - Republic of Ireland v Denmark, 5pm, Dama de Noche Football Centre, Marbella, Spain. (To be shown at 21.30pm on Premier Sports 1)