Five squad changes for Italy friendly under-19 clashes

REPUBLIC of Ireland Under 19 manager Sean McCaffrey has made five changes for the back to back friendly games away to Italy later this month.

Brought into the squad are Alan Sheehan (Leicester City), James Simmonds (Chelsea), Billy Clarke (Ipswich Town), Diarmuid O’Carroll (Celtic) and David Elebert (Preston), none of whom featured in the UEFA Championships First Qualifying Phase in Cyprus last October.

The Republic plays Italy on January 18 in Corato and again in Bisgeli on January 20. Both venues are near Bari kick off at 2.30pm local time.