Kasey McAteer will add quality but not the solution to Ireland's problems - Keith Treacy

Keith Treacy believes Leicester City's Kasey McAteer will be a decent addition to the Republic of Ireland player pool should he commit to the Boys in Green but he is not "buying into" suggestions that the growing prominence of wingers will prove transformative.

After last Monday's 4-0 win over Gibraltar in Faro, Ireland manager Stephen Kenny expressed delight with the players who started on the flank, Mikey Johnston and Chiedozie Ogbene, and added that, "I love wingers. I adore wing play."

He also suggested that "we have one more (player) coming on stream" and subsequently, the Irish Independent reported that the individual was Leicester's McAteer, who is in the process of committing his international future to Ireland and increasing the depth on the wing.

The Northampton-born 21-year-old is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury sustained against Blackburn Rovers in early October but had been in excellent form prior to that with five goals in nine games in the Championship and Carabao Cup.

A product of the Leicester academy, McAteer made one Premier League appearance in 2021 before loan spells at Forest Green Rovers and AFC Wimbledon but it's this season when he has hit the ground running.

Speaking on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast, ex-Ireland, Blackburn and Burnley winger Treacy welcomed the potential arrival of McAteer to the Irish fold but does not expect the youngster to be a solution to the core tactical issues within the team.

"He seems a very decent young player. Is he the answer to Ireland's problems? In a word, no," he said.

"But I don't think anybody is. I think you could drop Lionel Messi into that Irish team and it's not going to fill the problems that we need to be filled.

Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple