Deep into this summer like no other for in-demand Luca Connell, the green of Ireland rather than Celtic constitutes his main attraction.

Luca Connell has told Mick McCarthy that he is committed to playing for Ireland and the manager has further revealed that but for a thigh injury ruling him out, the Liverpool-born Bolton Wanderers midfielder would have been in with a real chance of at least a cameo in the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifier against Gibraltar.

The highly-rated young Bolton Wanderers midfielder had been a surprise call-up and, initially, was expected only to be involved in the training camp in Portugal.

At Ireland’s training camp in Portugal, Luca Connell is telling us how his unexpected call-up has disrupted his summer holiday plans. Not that he’s complaining, mind.

As the majority of the Irish squad for next month’s Euro 2020 qualifiers begin work at their training camp in Portugal today, Mick McCarthy says he has no fears that the 17-day-long run-up to the game against Denmark on June 7 will see any of his players fall victim to cabin fever.

Although it appeared initially as if Luca Connell was already in the final squad for the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Denmark and Dublin, Mick McCarthy has clarified that the player’s retention for those games will probably depend on how the Bolton Wanderers rising star performs in Ireland’s training camp in Portugal.

The call-up will be a boost for Connell after his club, Bolton Wanderers, went into administration following their relegation from the Championship.

Bolton will start next season in Sky Bet League One with a 12-point deduction after going into administration, the English Football League has announced.

Josh Cullen is a London-born midfielder and West Ham United employee and he has just been called up to the senior Ireland senior set-up for the first time as a late addition to Mick McCarthy’s squad.

There’s no Ireland striker in better form than David McGoldrick at the moment and the 31-year-old illustrated that reality again this weekend, opening the scoring as Sheffield United maintained their promotion push courtesy of a 2-0 win over Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.

Daniel Storey's talking points after the FA Cup weekend

The prospects of Declan Rice reaffirming his allegiance to Ireland are rapidly receding after bookmakers last night stopped taking bets on the West Ham United mainstay defecting to England.

He joined Bolton in the summer of 2017 but has not played since December.

International football is these days resembling a transfer market and this time Martin O’Neill is nursing the bloody nose.

There have been some remarkable stories in the World Cup over the years but this one you really couldn’t make up.

Under-17 European Championship finals (Group C)

League One Fleetwood Town welcome the live television cameras and Leicester City to their Highbury Stadium for today’s lunchtime FA Cup third round tie. 

Cancelling Christmas isn’t an obvious means of ingratiating yourself with a raft of new employees but it appears that Sam Allardyce can do no wrong at Everton where the latest chapter in one of British football’s most intriguing careers has kicked off on the most promising of intros.

Norway 2 Rep of Ireland 1

Ireland 4 Israel 0: Reece Grego-Cox felt honoured to escalate Ireland’s U21 European Championship qualification crusade yesterday against Israel.

If Martin O’Neill was seeking encouragement about the talent pool for the next campaign, the Ireland manager should have received some assurance from the display of the next generation.

Ireland U21 0 Norway U21 0

Declan Rice admits the desire to resume working with Roy Keane endures but helping Ireland’s U21s break their major finals duck is his immediate objective.

In an U21 qualifying group which underdogs Kosovo have taken the early initiative, victory for Ireland in Azerbaijan today (4pm Irish time) is a must for their 2019 European Championship hopes.

There were only a couple of selection decisions Martin O’Neill needed to be convinced of last night and Kevin Long did well enough against Uruguay to show he’s capable of stepping up to the challenge of a World Cup qualifier on Sunday.

New Limerick boss Neil McDonald wants his side to lay down a marker against defending Premier League champions Dundalk at the Markets Field tonight.

Martin Cloake bids an emotional farewell to White Hart Lane ahead of its final game tomorrow...

How incoming England manager Sam Allardyce contrived to keep a hard-drinking Limerick player off the beer was recalled yesterday.

Four prospects for the World Cup qualifiers...

Felix Healy is the only Irishman, north or south, to make the leap from domestic leagues to a major international tournament. Brendan O’Brien spoke to him about 1982, the World Cup, balancing his days playing football with nights as a gigging musician and a life less ordinary.

The Class of 92 were united in mourning at the funeral of Neville Neville, the father of former Manchester United footballers Gary and Phil.

Republic of Ireland international David McGoldrick came off the bench to score and send Mick McCarthy’s Ipswich top of the Championship last night.

Former Scotland football captain Colin Hendry has admitted harassing hisex-girlfriend over a two-month period.

Having drawn a team of proven European pedigree in the Champions League, Dundalk’s Daryl Horgan thinks it’s important the club learn a lesson from last season’s narrow Europa League exit to Hajduk Split, when the Lilywhites lost the home leg 0-2 before going to Croatia and winning 2-1.

Former Premier League striker Delroy Facey has been convicted of conspiring to bribe players in a match-fixing plot.

Ireland U21 striker Conor Wilkinson is hoping to put the advice he’s received from Neil Lennon and Emile Heskey at Bolton Wanderers to use for his country tonight at the Waterford RSC (7.45pm).

Thanks for joining us here on our live blog - plenty of deals on a busy final day.

Liverpool 2 West Ham 0: Oh how the Kop have missed him.