Ryan Johansson receives first call up to Republic of Ireland u21 squad

Republic of Ireland under-21 manager Stephen Kenny photographed with assistant Jim Crawford following a 2020 draw with Italy in Tallaght.

Republic of Ireland Under-21 manager Jim Crawford named a 26 man squad this morning. Credit: Michael P Ryan (ETPhotos)

Sevilla’s Ryan Johansson has been called up to the Republic of Ireland Under-21 squad for the first time since being declared eligible to play for the Boys in Green.

Manager Jim Crawford has named six other uncapped players to his squad ahead of their trip to Marbella for a series of three friendlies against Switzerland, Australia and Denmark.

John Joe Patrick Finn Benoa, Ciaran Brennan, Festy Ebosele, Sean Roughan and Dan Rose could all win their first caps for the Under-21 side during this series of friendlies.

UCD’s Colm Whelan is the final uncapped player included in the squad with the striker’s eight First Division goals so far this season earning him a call up.

Three other League of Ireland players have been called up to the 26 man squad, with Andy Lyons and Dawson Devoy of Bohemians, and Bray Wanderers’ Brian Maher also set to make the trip to Spain.

The games will form part of the U21s preparation for their 2023 European Championship qualifiers against Bosnia & Herzegovina and Luxembourg in September. 

Ireland take on Switzerland on Sunday, 30 May (kick-off 11am) and Australia on Wednesday, 2 June (kick-off 12noon) with their final game of the series taking place on Saturday, 5 June against Denmark (kick-off 5pm).

Republic of Ireland squad

Goalkeepers: Sam Blair (Norwich City), Brian Maher (Bray Wanderers), Dan Rose (Schalke 04)

Defenders: Ciaran Brennan (Sheffield Wednesday), Festy Ebosele (Derby County), Shane Flynn (Leicester City), Andy Lyons (Bohemians), Oisin McEntee (Newcastle United), Mark McGuinness (Arsenal), Lewis Richards (Wolves), Sean Roughan (Lincoln City). 



Midfielders: John Joe Patrick Finn Benoa (Getafe), Luca Connell (Celtic), Conor Coventry (West Ham United), Dawson Devoy (Bohemians), Alex Gilbert (Brentford), Conor Grant (Rochdale), Ryan Johansson (Sevilla), Conor Noss (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Louie Watson (Derby County). 

Forwards: Jonathan Afolabi (Celtic), Will Ferry (Southampton), Joshua ‘JJ’ Kayode (Rotherham United), Gavin Kilkenny (Bournemouth), Colm Whelan (UCD), Tyreik Wright (Aston Villa).

    About Paul Corcoran

    Paul Corcoran is an experienced writer and journalist and has contributed to various publications including the Galway United match programme Maroon View. He spends much of his time covering the fortunes of Galway United's teams … View Full Profile