'Conor is our player - always has been' - Ireland U21 boss Crawford sends signal to Scots

Ireland U21 manager Jim Crawford has named his 22-man squad to face Latvia in the Euro U21 Championship qualifier on Friday week in Riga (1pm, Irish time).

Highly-rated Crewe Alexandra 19-year-old defender Connor O'Riordan has been called up after withdrawing from the Scottish U21 squad only days ago.

O’Riordan was called for by the Scots on Monday but the next day, the Scottish FA confirmed the teen was out and Crawford has today recalled the once-capped powerhouse for the qualifier away to Latvia.

“Essentially Conor is our player – he always has been,” affirmed Crawford, who is chasing his third straight win in the campaign next week.

“I didn't have an inkling he’d be picked in the Scotland squad but these things happen at underage football moreso than senior. We’ve had the conversation and all I can say is that he is desperate to play for of Ireland and that's the type of player you want here.” The Ireland boss then explained the background to the English-born defender’s involvement with Ireland.

“We brought him in with the Ireland U20s team against the amateur team last year and he has always been on our radar.

“When he got called up into our March camp against Iceland, unfortunately he tweaked his hamstring in training in the build-up so we brought him in for June.

“Everybody in the room understands that June is challenging window in terms of player-fitness levels. He would have played two out of the three games, but one game for whatever reason didn't happen and the next game was abandoned.

“In the buildup to September, Connor wasn't playing or didn't start the season with Crewe. He played a couple of games just before the window.

“Connor is somebody that is always there or thereabouts in the squad. I just felt at