Ireland midfielder could make debut against Luxembourg

June 9, 2025

Heimir Hallgrimsson could hand Stoke City’s Bosun Lawal his Ireland debut against Luxembourg following a surprise call-up.

The midfielder has barely featured for the Potters in his debut season following a move from Celtic.

An ongoing back issue has restricted him to just seven Championship appearances, including two starts in the final two matches of the season.

However, that hasn’t deterred Hallgrimsson from selecting the 22-year-old ahead of Tuesday’s friendly.

There were no fresh injury concerns to his squad, and Lawal’s inclusion will bolster midfield numbers.

He’s a powerful midfielder who is versatile and can feature in central defence. He also played at right wing-back for Stoke at the end of the season.

Only a matter of time for Bosun Lawal

Speaking ahead of the 1-1 draw with Senegal, assistant John O’Shea says Lawal has consistently been on their radar.

He said: “It’s been a frustrating one for Bosun. He trained with us last year and you were really hopeful he’d have game time with Stoke.

“It was frustrating for him with the injury he picked up. Thankfully, he was patient. If you try and rush back, he could suffer multiple injuries from it.

“It was frustrating not to get into the Stoke team in his ideal position either. But he played a few games towards the end of the season and was really impressive.

“I think it’s only a matter of time before he kicks on like we expect.”

Opportunity knocks for Ireland striker against Luxembourg

Troy Parrott, who is attracting plenty of transfer interest, will get a chance to showcase his ability against Luxembourg.

The striker was forced to sit out the Senegal draw, having picked up a sickness bug.

That gave Celtic’s Adam Idah the opportunity up front, and while he impressed with his work rate, he failed to have a shot on target.

Dropping a big hint into his starting XI for Tuesday, manager Hallgrimsson said of Parrott: “When a player is sick, we’re not doing him a favour playing him if he’s 80 per cent.

“We would obviously like to play him fully fit and give him the chance to show himself when he is fully fit.

“He was OK. Probably he would have come into this game (Senegal) were it not for the injury to Robbie Brady in the end, but we will see him play in two days.

“Adam deserved to start against Senegal.

“He produced a solid performance. His workrate was, I thought, better than often before. Again, it’s healthy competition up front.”