John O'Shea says Sammie Szmodics is 'buzzing' to play for Ireland and lauds former U21 players Finn Azaz and Jake O'Brien

John O'Shea believes that a trio of new arrivals will blend seamlessly into the Ireland squad for the upcoming internationals against Belgium and Switzerland.

The interim Ireland manager will be in charge for the upcoming international window, ahead of the planned announcement of Stephen Kenny’s permanent successor next month, and he named his squad for the double header in Dublin earlier on Thursday.

The uncapped trio of Sammie Szmodics, Finn Azaz and Jake O’Brien were named in the 26-man squad, while there was also a return for the quartet of Michael Obafemi, Robbie Brady, Callum O'Dowda and Seamus Coleman.

Szmodics was called into a previous squad under Kenny’s tenure, however, he did not see any gametime and subsequently missed out due to family commitments.

However, the in-form Blackburn frontman has made himself available to join up for the upcoming games, and he brings with him a burgeoning reputation, having scored 27 goals so far this season.

And the interim boss said that the Ewood Park man is looking forward to starting his international career in the green of Ireland, despite rumours that he was in line to be called up by Hungary.

"Any of the conversations I had with Sammie were all straightforward," said O’Shea, speaking at the squad announcement.

"He is buzzing. He’s delighted to be coming in and it’s great to have a player like him in such good form consistently all season. He has got that versatility in terms of where he’s playing at the minute. He’s floating from a striker into a 10 position too.

"It’s great to have an option like that to bring into the squad."

Szmodics is among a gang of six selected in the forward department, named alongside Evan Ferguson, Adam Idah, Obafemi, Chiedozie Ogbene, and Troy Parrott.