Heimir Hallgrimsson primed for first camp with Ireland squad

Heimir Hallgrimsson will be hoping that the full complement made it through the weekend games to report for international duty in Dublin ahead of the upcoming UEFA Nations League games against England and Greece.

The new manager will not want to delve into his reserve list at the start of his first international window, having named a 23-man squad on Thursday.

As things stand all players are expected to report for duty, although there was a lot of media speculation regarding the availability of Evan Ferguson after missing out on Brighton's matchday squad at Arsenal on Saturday.

Ferguson was an unused substitute in the midweek Carabao Cup win, which was enough to allow Ireland to include him in the squad, and with the blessing of his club, remarked Hallgrimsson after the announcement.

The young striker is still returning to match fitness and there is every chance that it will suit Brighton to see him gain some valuable competitive minutes away with Ireland for two games.

It does, however, make it an unlikely scenario that he will be fit to start either game, with minutes off the bench perhaps his best option for this double-header.

Of the 13 Premier League players in the Ireland squad, seven of them saw action at the weekend, including Ipswich duo Sammie Szmodics and Chiedozie Ogbene, who helped their new club to their first top flight point of the season.

Both players saw some goalmouth action, however, their work rate was just as important in a tough game against Fulham, which ended all square.

One of the real positives of the weekend was to see a fully fit Seamus Coleman flying at Everton – well for the first 86 minutes at least – before his side’s collective commanding performance proved all for nothing, conceding three late