Ciaran Brennan and John Joe Patrick Finn Benoa dropped out during the week.
Wolfsburg centre-back Anselmo García McNulty and Watford midfielder Bosun Lawal have been called up to the Ireland under-21 squad for the fixtures starting this Sunday. They replace Sheffield Wednesday centre-back Ciaran Brennan and Getafe midfielder John Joe Patrick Finn Benoa who dropped out of the squad during the week.
“I had a very positive conversation with John Joe and from that discussion it was clear the appropriate thing to do was to allow him to put his full focus into his upcoming exams,” under-21 boss Jim Crawford was quoted via the FAI website.
“He was very excited by the call-up and is looking forward to being involved in the Irish set-up in the near future.
“Unfortunately, Ciaran Brennan hasn’t been able to make the trip as he’s sick and we wish him a speedy recovery.
“We decided to bring in Bosun, who has done very well at Watford’s academy this season, and Anselmo García McNulty who likewise has performed well for Wolfsburg this campaign. It’s an opportunity for both players to impress in training.”
As stated by Crawford, both players had highly impressive seasons for their clubs this season.
Lawal was recently awarded Watford Academy Player of the Season after a stellar campaign for the under-18s and under-23s. Given Watford’s promotion to the Premier League for next season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the soon-to-be 18-year-old involved during the course of the campaign.
García McNulty’s performances and development have seen him linked with Eintracht Frankfurt in recent weeks. However, Jorg Schmadtke – sporting director of Wolfsburg – has denied those rumours, instead suggesting that the 18-year-old could train with the first team/go out on loan next season.
The under-21s are set to play 3 friendly games. The first game comes against Switzerland this Sunday, after that they take on Australia the following the Wednesday and the final fixture is being played against Denmark on Saturday.
All fixtures will be televised on Premier Sports/Free Sports with the games against Switzerland and Australia being shown live while the Denmark fixture will be shown in full later in the day.
The squad in full is as follows:
