Stephen Kenny has said that he is delighted for Troy Parrott that the 17-year-old Spurs player has received his first senior Ireland call-up even though it means the U21 manager will be without his star striker for next Thursday’s Euro 2021 qualifier away to Armenia.

“I’m feeling very well. Obviously I had a stay (in hospital) in Sweden and there is probably not a better health system you could have than in Sweden so it wasn’t the worse place to be not well in.

Debut U21 call-ups for Troy Parrott, Michael Obafemi and Johnathan Afolabi have reinforced the sense of a rich vein of attacking talent bubbling up in Irish football, something further underlined in Stephen Kenny’s latest squad announcement by a decision to make a distinction on paper between ‘central midfielders’ and ‘attacking midfielder

Bournemouth midfielder Gavin Kilkenny and Danny McNamara, who is currently on loan at Newport County also recieved their first call-ups.

Graeme Souness talks in much the same way he tackled. There is no room for niceties as he speaks.

It will be the first time since 2002 that Ireland have competed in the tournament.

The only doubt Stephen Kenny has about Troy Parrott’s readiness for U21 action relates to the player’s current injury problems.

Cork City are closing in on a possible deal to bring Crystal Palace defender Damien Delaney back to his native city, Examiner Sport understands.

Many years ago, when I was a young fellow, I decided to follow Leeds United.

The France midfielder scored twice as United beat Manchester City to delay the champions being anointed, but was underwhelming in a 1-0 loss to West Brom which gifted City the Premier League title.

Shane Duffy was named the FAI Senior Player of the Year for 2017 last night but the big Brighton defender was unable to collect his award in person as the weather took its toll on the annual televised ceremony in RTÉ, with the programme having to be shortened from a scheduled running time of 90 minutes to one hour.

In calling up Declan Rice to his squad for this month’s training camp and friendly in Turkey, Martin O’Neill has stressed that the highly-rated young West Ham defender, who is still eligible to play senior football for both Ireland and England, will not come under any pressure to decide his international future.

Chelsea 1 Barcelona 1 

A few big-money Premier League transfers are expected to go through before deadline day.

West Bromwich Albion are said to have turned down a bid from Derby County for Republic of Ireland international James McClean.

West Ham are expected to issue a stadium ban to one of their supporters if it is determined comments were made about the death of the baby son of West Brom midfielder Jake Livermore.

Newcastle ended a run of four straight defeats after coming back from 2-0 down to claim a gutsy point at West Brom.

Ger McCarthy shares what we learned from Ireland's clash with Denmark…

James McCarthy has been named in a 34-man Republic of Ireland squad for next month's World Cup play-offs against Denmark.

Here's what we learned from Ireland's win over Wales.

Peter Jackson on the son of an Irish emigrant who guided Wales to the World Cup finals and was Matt Busby’s right-hand man at Manchester United.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes English clubs might be better without the "wasted energy" of a League Cup campaign.

Former Republic of Ireland soccer star Mark Kinsella has been cleared of drink driving.

We’re just seven years shy of a century since a side representing the 26 counties first played international football and in all that time, only one midfielder has broken double figures when it comes to scoring goals.

O'Neill selects a 25-man panel for two qualifiers against Georgia and Serbia.

Former Republic of Ireland soccer star Mark Kinsella will go on trial in September accused of drink driving.

Accumulated profits at the marketing company owned by Irish international footballer Shane Long rose nearly €53,000 to €360,332 last year, new accounts show.

In the depths of New Jersey commuter country, Tuesday morning was all about shaking off cobwebs.

Pep Guardiola believes Watford could rouse themselves to make life tough for Manchester City on Sunday.

West Brom 0 Chelsea 1: Antonio Conte came, he saw, and last night he conquered as Chelsea were crowned Premier League champions.

West Brom 0 Manchester United 2: They say the old ones are the best and Zlatan Ibrahimovic certainly proves the adage. But he wants to push human boundaries to the limit.

Arsene Wenger admitted in midweek that Arsenal had paid a heavy price for failing to turn the screw on an out-of-sorts Everton.

Chelsea 1 West Brom 0: Diego Costa’s 12th goal of the season took Chelsea to their ninth successive league victory and back to the top of the Premier League – three points clear of Arsenal – but just imagine where they would be if they could do first halves.

Liverpool 2 Tottenham 1: There was something telling in the manner in which Daniel Sturridge celebrated the first of the goals which helped Liverpool secure safe passage to the fifth round of the EFL Cup last night.

Sky Sports subscribers in Ireland will have the choice of six live Saturday 3pm Premier League matches across Christmas and the New Year.

France have pinpointed Wes Hoolahan as the Ireland player they need to thwart if they’re to prevail in today's Euro 2016 last-16 tie.

Keiren Westwood’s body language said it all. With 70 minutes played at Turner’s Cross on Tuesday, and David Forde given the nod to replace Shay Given in goal, it looked like the Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper’s chances of booking passage to France had come and gone without him even donning the gloves.

Dele Alli will not play for Tottenham again this season after the Football Association handed him a three-match ban for violent conduct.

Whether it’s the smell of a new pair of boots, the smooth texture of a new ball unblemished by the thousands of hours of play yet to come or that sense of excitement that comes with donning the latest replica kit for the first time, sport clearly isn’t just about the joys accrued from playing or watching it.