Redmond looking forward to battle with Afolabi

The duo keep in contact to this day and maybe, as he’s lounging around his Madrid mansion, Ireland’s biggest domestic football occasion, attended by over 40,000, will pique his interest of Jude Bellingham.

BATTLE AHEAD: Joe Redmond poses for a portrait during a St Patrick's Athletic media day, at Richmond Park in Dublin, ahead of the Sports Direct FAI Cup Final. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Jude Bellingham might use his rest time on Sunday to break from world domination to check in on his former teammate captaining an FAI Cup final team.

St Patrick’s Athletic skipper Joe Redmond was an apprentice at Birmingham City when the prodigy first emerged. The three age-gap didn’t mean much.

Watching the recent El Clasico, which Bellingham won for Real Madrid by scoring twice, the Saints skipper thought back to their time at the Championship club and where they’ve ventured since.

He equates the 20-year-old’s mastery to that viewable in a computer game.

“I was 15 and he was 12,” the defender recalls.

“I remember being told, ‘that’s Jude, he’ll become the youngest ever Birmingham City player’ but he was only a dot. You wonder how do they know he’d be that good but they knew.

“He came up to the Under-18s at 14 or 15 when I was still playing. He made lads look silly by flying around. He wasn’t that physical then, relying on his technical ability, but look at now. he’s physical, technical and can do it all.

“Every debut for England, he scored and it’s like someone has him on a Playstation controller.

“Players can go high or low but someone high up in Birmingham knew back then exactly what was going to happen. He must have had the controller.” 

The duo keep in contact to this day and maybe, as he’s lounging around his Madrid mansion, Ireland’s biggest domestic football occasion, attended by over 40,000, will pique his interest of Bellingham.

“Anything he does, I say fair play because he’s such a nice fella,” he said. "I still text him and he’d always reply and say thanks or well done. A player of that stature now doesn’t have to talk to anyone.” 

Redmond made his own way in the game after Birmingham, returning home and being appointed St Pat’s skipper at 22.

The Bohemians striker he marks, the league’s joint top scorer Jonathan Afolabi, is one he knows well from his formative years.

“We spent three years together as kids at St Joseph’s Boys and won loads of trophies,” he said of the forward called into the Ireland senior squad last month.

“I haven’t spoken to him since we played each other at Richmond. I’ve parked that to one side as we’re getting closer to the final. There will be no words sent in a text until after the final.

“I’m looking forward to the battle with him on Sunday. He’s shown this year how good he can be. As a player, that’s something you want to embrace.”