Aston Villa forward Scott Hogan could play for the Republic of Ireland against Moldova on Friday.
Martin O’Neill, coach of Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill has told the Daily Mail that he has spoken to Aston Villa forward Scott Hogan about improving his hold-up play.
Hogan, 25, hit the headlines last season with 14 goals in 26 games for Brentford, and his goalscoring exploits for the Bees unsurprisingly attracted major interest.
The forward completing a £15million move to Aston Villa in January (London Evening Standard), but he has scored just one league goal in 23 games for Villa, with his stats suggesting that he has yet to really get going at Villa Park.
However, Hogan has been in demand on the international stage, as whilst he was born in Salford, he is eligible to represent the Republic of Ireland due to having two Irish grandparents.
Now, Hogan has been called into the Ireland squad for the first time, and could make his debut against Moldova or Wales as Martin O’Neill attempts to secure a place at the World Cup in Russia next summer.
Hogan is joined in attack by Shane Long, Daryl Murphy, David McGoldrick, Sean Maguire and Aiden O’Brien, with O’Neill opting to make Hogan one of three new attackers in the Ireland setup.
Ahead of Friday’s game against Moldova, manager O’Neill has told the Daily Mail that he feels Hogan has the ability to create chances for himself and score in the box.
However, O’Neill added that he has told Hogan that he can greatly improve his hold-up play outside the box, and Villa may well find that their former manager is helping their expensive striker develop.
“He has the ability in the box to forge a chance for himself and score,” said O’Neill. “I think that he can improve greatly on his hold-up play outside the penalty area and I have said that to him. But I definitely think that he is a goalscorer,” he added.
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