Festy Ebosele ready to take the baton and impress for Ireland

James McClean will bid farewell to a stellar international career when he takes to the pitch for the Republic of Ireland's friendly fixture with New Zealand on Tuesday night.

And as one man walks away, another is waiting in the wings – and on the wing, as it happens – ready and willing to kick-start his own international career.

Festy Ebosele has become a senior squad regular over the past three months, and now, following a couple of impressive cameos in the green, the young Wexford man is looking to break into the starting XI.

McClean has been capped over 100 times for his country, and while that international journey took him to Euro 2012 and the 2016 edition in France, and saw him score the winning goals in excellent away wins against Austria and Wales, he was also inspiring a young Ebosele, looking on from afar, coming through the schoolboy ranks at Moyne Rangers.

"It was James McClean I looked up to in the Irish team," said Ebosele, speaking at a press conference ahead of this weekend’s Euro 2024 qualifier against the Netherlands in Amsterdam.

"He was quick. He liked to dribble past players and get crosses in. That's what I really liked, and he was exciting to watch, so that's why I looked up to him.

"I spoke to him after his post on the retirement and he said he would be back in for the New Zealand game so I'm looking forward to seeing him again."

"When I was younger, I was more of a winger. [Now I’m] still an attacking player, I can play on the wing or right back," added Ebosele, who possesses the potential and lightning speed to bring a similar attacking threat into the Ireland set-up.

Coming through the academy of Bray Wanderers as a 14-year-old, Ebosele signed for Derby County in 2018 and went on to be capped at