The successors to Belgium’s golden generation set to face Ireland at the Aviva

Belgium's Youri Tielemans celebrates after scoring a goal during the Uefa Nations League. Picture: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images

March 26 will be pitched as the visit of the world’s best team but realistically the Belgium side facing Ireland will be primarily their supporting cast.

Friendly internationals are inconvenient at the best of times for the Red Devils’ golden generation, yet the proximity to the tail end of the season in the biggest leagues across Europe along with the Champions League latter stages has convinced Roberto Martinez to dig deep into his options.

Preparations to exceed their bronze medal finishes from the last two World Cups in Qatar will intensify through the six Uefa Nations League games in the summer and autumn, leaving this window for experimentation.

He will still have talent in abundance. While the Irish public are unlikely to see Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, and Romelu Lukaku at Aviva Stadium, they may get sight of their successors.

Here we profile five of the players fitting Martinez’s selection criteria for the March gathering of 50 caps or fewer.

The FAI is due to announce ticket details shortly, with the likelihood of a duo package with the game against Lithuania three days later.

Jérémy Doku (Age: 19. Caps: 10).

Currently playing in France for Rennes, who paid €26m to Anderlecht for him in late 2020, it is inevitable the teen striker will be moved on for a handsome profit.

Liverpool have been long-time admirers, tracing back to a visit he made to their Melwood training ground three years ago, and Jurgen Klopp would be confident the answer is more positive when he next tables an invitation, most likely this summer.

Irish fans also witnessed what the fuss was about at Tallaght in 2018 when he ran Colin O’Brien’s side ragged during the U17 Euros clash and his repertoire was again on show to a global viewership at last summer’s senior championships. He had progressed to starter for the quarter-final meeting with eventual champions Italy.

Youri Tielemans (Age: 24. Caps: 47).

Elegant holding midfielders are a rarefied commodity around Europe, ensuring a talent on Tielemans’s trajectory is in major demand. The path from the King Power Stadium to Chelsea has been beaten by several predecessors but it wouldn’t be surprising to see this svelte, energetic schemer fill the gaping hole at the base of Manchester United’s midfield.

Whenever he does depart, City should command more than double the €36m outlay to Monaco, regretful that the best days of his career are still ahead. That says something for the matchwinner in last season’s FA Cup final but is evident by the solid progression in his game.

Albert Sambi Lokonga (Age: 22. Caps: 1).

One still in the potential category, Lokonga is the latest graduate of the Anderlecht production house and purchased by Arsenal in the summer as part of Mikel Arteta’s stated aim of refreshing his Gunners side.

The €18m recruit was thrust straight into the action for the opening pair of Premier League games, the defeats to Brentford and Chelsea, and in tandem with his team, has endured an erratic spell since. Contracting Covid-19 in December accounted for a degree of that inconsistency. Handed his one and only senior cap by Martinez in the September World Cup qualifier against Estonia, he’ll be putting his hand up for another audition in Dublin.

Zinho Vanheusden (Age: 22. Caps: 1).

The defender — currently on loan from Inter Milan to fellow Serie A side Genoa — had been marked out as the heir to centre-back Jan Vertonghen but the delayed transition prompted a public interjection last month by the player’s father, Johan, who criticised Martinez for the lack of game-time afforded to his son.

His excuse for the snub, the lack of matches at Genoa, has since been rectified by a run of matches, placing him at the forefront of candidates to vie for exposure in March. A classy operator in possession, Vanheusden has been carefully managed by Inter from academy level through loans to be ready-made for their defence.

Alexis Saelemaekers (Age: 22. Caps: 7).

Wing-plan has been a bedrock of the Belgian revolution and the width and trickery of the AC Milan speedster continues that tradition. Blessed with natural skill, Saelemaekers’ ability to glide past defenders is ominous, for he will view the trip to Ireland and the subsequent game against yet-to-be confirmed opposition as ideal to cement his place on the flank.

Given the Italians are not the European force they once were, nailing their rising star down to a contract extension in October until 2026 at least guarantees them value when the suitors possessing deeper pockets surely start to circle.