Will Lincoln City Magic Man Jack Moylan Be Called Up For Ireland?

With two international call-ups already, the big question on Imps fans’ lips right now is: will there be a third?

Some are looking at the possibility of us confirming promotion at Doncaster, but that will not be entirely possible. If we were to win this weekend against Rotherham and beat Doncaster, we would have 87 points. Bolton are currently on 66, and if they were to lose this weekend, they would have seven games to play, meaning they could still hit 87 points. Their game on that Saturday has been called off, so we could not possibly confirm 100% at Donny, even with favourable results.

There are calls for us to play the Doncaster game no matter what, especially with Ivan Varfolomeev not featuring this week and Ryan Oné coming on later. Some felt we might be prepping for Doncaster with our selections against Huddersfield, and with Jack Moylan starting, that suggests we do not have prior knowledge of a call-up.

Ireland squad at 11:30 am

The Ireland squad for their upcoming fixture against Czechia is revealed at 11:30 this morning, and the fact that Jack is even mentioned is significant. He has been mentioned as a possible wildcard pick in the Irish media, but how likely is it?

Firstly, the side does have injuries. Josh Cullen and Evan Ferguson have both been ruled out, along with West Brom winger Mikey Johnston. Bosun Lawal is another who will likely miss out, as he only returned to training with Stoke this week. One-time City target Adam Idah has yet to play a minute for Swansea since sustaining a hamstring injury and is another risk. That has left some doors open for surprise picks, and Moylan is one mentioned, as is Barnsley’s David McGoldrick.

If this were a friendly, I would put money on Moylan being called up. It is not; it is a World Cup qualifier, and given Moylan has not been involved before, it would be a brave choice by Heimir Hallgrímsson.

There is the issue of levels. Ireland very rarely caps players outside the top two divisions. Their most recent squad had Johnny Kenny, currently of Bolton, but he was called up while with Celtic, not the Trotters. The only other outfield call-up in recent squads with a current League One club to their name is Josh Honohan, but again, that was while with Shamrock Rovers, prior to his move to us.

Moylan may wait

If we get promoted and Jack catches the eye in the Championship, he will get the call. Their recent squads have included the likes of Mark Sykes, Will Smallbone, Jason Knight and Rocco Vata, all Championship players, and Jack will fit right into that demographic.

I would not rule out a call-up for him. He has been in great form and perhaps could be a real wildcard from the bench. Would he be trusted over McGoldrick, who has been there before, or Kenny with his Celtic background? That is a question for Heimir Hallgrímsson, not for me.