McGoldrick recall for Ireland would be a 'no

Last week, veteran forward David McGoldrick opened the door to a Republic of Ireland return for the crucial World Cup play-off semi-final against Czechia.

And that door is one that Heimir Hallgrimsson should hold more ajar and usher the 38-year-old through for the one-off of Prague, according to Paul Corry and Richie Towell.

McGoldrick retired from Ireland duty in 2020 after winning 14 caps. But the Boys in Green have concerns about the forward department.

Beyond the in-form Troy Parrott, who is primed to lead the line in Prague next Thursday, Hallgrimsson's options are a little bit more threadbare when it comes to squad regulars.

Evan Ferguson is out for the rest of the season. Meanwhile, Adam Idah has yet to play a minute for Swansea since sustaining a hamstring injury in December, although the Cork man is said to be close to a return.

However, Idah would be far from match sharp even if Hallgrimsson names him in his squad on Thursday. Chiedozie Ogbene has also played barely more than 20 minutes of football in recent weeks for Sheffield United.

Sammie Szmodics and Johnny Kenny will be among those in line to fill the void potentially.

But McGoldrick has also reappeared on the radar based on his excellent form in League One.

Before being named as the English third-tier's player of the month on Friday, he had scored eight goals in his last ten league games for Conor Hourihane's Barnsley.

When Sky Sports asked him if he would reconsider his Ireland retirement should Hallgrimsson's number appear on his phone, McGoldrick indicated that he would .

While the veteran would not be expected to start, reintegrating an experienced name like him into the squad for a one-off window would be easier, ex-Sheffield Wednesday and UCD midfielder Corry said on this week's RTÉ Soccer Podcast.

"The name that keeps popping up is David McGoldrick," he said.

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"That's maybe somebody you could see coming in because he's scoring so many goals. An Alan Browne and a David McGoldrick are very comfortable around international set-ups, they're very comfortable with international football.

"You're not throwing them into something that's going to be very foreign to them.

"If I think about other forward players who are in good form, Jack Moylan is probably another name that springs to mind. He's been doing incredibly well at Lincoln.

"(But) that would feel like a big step and a big jump for Jack to be thrown into this window, just with the magnitude of the game.

"I think I'd lean slightly more in favour of David McGoldrick just because he knows the lay of the land, played big games for Ireland before.

"So that sort of decision is maybe one that's going to require a bit of thinking of time for Heimir."

Towell, meanwhile, feels Hallgrimsson should leap at the opportunity if McGoldrick is indeed keen to add to the forward options for next week.

"I genuinely think he's an easy choice to put into the squad," said Towell, who faced McGoldrick in 2018-19 during their respective times at Rotherham and Sheffield United.

"Purely because of the form that he's in and experience. As Paul said, he's not going to be fazed whatsoever.

"You could put a younger player in and the occasion might get to them. You know if you put David McGoldrick into the squad, it would be no problem.

"But even if you put him onto the pitch at any stage, he's going to be nice and calm, he's going to lead by example.

"He's been doing that at Barnsley. There's a reason that Conor Hourihane has signed him at Barnsley.

"David McGoldrick is four years older than Conor Hourihane and he's signed a player of that experience, he must be great around the dressing room for a manager to have that sort of confidence to bring a player in.

"Some managers might look at that and think 'he could undermine me a little bit' with being the more experienced player.

"For him to bring someone like David McGoldrick in, it probably shows the type of character he is as well.

"So I think that's a no-brainer bringing someone like him in."

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