Kane Ferdinand; a better prospect that Bilel Mohsni?
With young Kane Ferdinand gaining rave reviews in his holding role in front of the back four for the Shrimpers first team it's no surprise he's been rewarded with a follow-up to his Republic of Ireland under-18 debut last year.
Ferdinand spoke to www.echo-news.co.uk: "It's brilliant and I'm really looking forward to joining up with the rest of the lads. I qualify to play through my dad, who is Irish and I've played at younger age groups and really enjoyed it so I'm sure I will again. I played last year for the under-18s and we had a couple games in Macedonia. The football is slower and the opponents aren't as physical or in your face but I'm really proud to have been picked."
Irish Youth manager Paul Doolin has named an under-19 squad to play a friendly double-header against Croatia, both in Umag on February 8th and 10th, and Kane will meet up with the squad next week which could make the London-born midfielder a doubt for the long trip to Accrington on the Saturday, February 12th.
These games are ahead of the Elite Phase of UEFA Under-19 European Championship qualifying in May.
Doolin told http://greenscene.me/2011/01/doolin-names-ireland-u19-squad-to-face-croatia/: "Croatia, like us, have qualified for the Elite phase, so will provide two good tests for our squad. I'm familiar with the group of players which played in the UEFA first phase qualifiers and these matches are about giving other lads their chance of impressing. The bad weather over the last few months meant lots of club fixtures were postponed but this is a great opportunity to see players within our own set-up. They are all doing well at their clubs and deserve their opportunity at this level.
U19 Squad:
Aaron McCarey (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Sean McDermott (Arsenal)
Daniel Devine (Aston Villa)
Derrick Williams (Aston Villa)
Kane Ferdinand (Southend United)
Sean McGinty (Manchester United)
Michael Harriman (QPR)
Mark O'Brien (Derby County)
Sean Murray (Watford)
Anthony Forde (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Matt Doherty (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Matty Harriott (Sheffield United)
John O'Sullivan (Blackburn Rovers)
Samir Carruthers (Aston Villa)
Kevin Knight (Leicester City)
Shane Byrne (Leicester City)
Conor Murphy (Shamrock Rovers)
Jamie Stephens: Another Irish lad is found amongst the young Shrimpers
Meanwhile, also joining Kane and that other well known Irishman Harry Crawford is midfielder Jamie Stephens who will be part of the Northern Irish Under-19 squad between September 19th-24th for two friendly fixtures against Iceland.
At 17 Jamie could in fact also play for their Under-18 team, but will now get a chance to appear in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifiers taking place in October.