Jim Crawford reckons two tough loan spells last year added a new dimension to striker Mipo Odubeko.
The West Ham prospect returned to the green jersey in the 2-0 win away to Sweden in March and he scored his first goal at Under-21 level in the Bosnia and Herzegovina victory earlier this month.
Odubeko could have a vital role to play on Tuesday when Ireland - already guaranteed a play-off shot at making next year’s European Championships - attempt to secure automatic promotion in Italy.
Crawford welcomed the 19-year-old back into the international fold after a three-year break, and after watching the striker closely during loan spells at Huddersfield and Doncaster.
Odubeko made a total of 22 first-team appearances last season across the two loan spells, with 16 of those coming in League One with Doncaster.
And Crawford said: “Hopefully now he can go back to West Ham [this summer] a better player. Probably, being realistic, he needs to have another eye on a loan move.
“Maybe is it a higher-end League One club? Is it Championship?
“I know he went to Huddersfield and it didn’t quite work out for him there.
“But this is what we say to all our players - don’t be afraid to knock on David Moyes’ door, what do I need to do, do I need more experience, can somebody at the club help me or point me in the right direction to a club for a loan period that meets my needs?
“Doncaster was great in terms of workrate, but I think he probably needs something else now where they can create chances for him and he can show his real qualities, which is in the box.”
Several of Crawford’s players have experienced first-team football at various levels, many of them during loan spells.
Others will have to sit down with their club managers over the coming weeks to discuss their short-term futures.
Crawford joined Newcastle from Bohemians in 1995 and made first-team appearances under Kevin Keegan and Kenny Dalglish, but saw more senior action during loan spells at Rotherham and Dundee United.
He continued: “What these players need to get right is they need to get into a first-team. If they can’t, can they go on-loan to a coach who can help them develop.
“There is no point in going to a club that plays in a way that totally goes against the grain of their development.
“I would have questioned Doncaster at the beginning, but myself and Mipo had a discussion saying this is helping you.
“When I saw him playing with the [West Ham Under] 23s, it was probably a part of his game that I questioned, in terms of closing people down and being a real nuisance to play against.
“But definitely at Doncaster he worked exceptionally hard, so I was delighted for him.
“I contacted him when he scored his first goal for Doncaster and I said, there are many more goals like that for you in your career, as long as you keep your head down, work hard and work smart.
“Before I even met Mipo, I got in touch with the Huddersfield manager, Carlos Corberan, and I said to him, ‘I know it didn’t work out for Mipo, tell me what his attitude was like around the place’.
“He said it was excellent and that, for me, sold it. Great, now we have another player who is willing to come in and to work hard with the 21s.
“It was good to get a little bit of feedback from a manager who worked with him when he wasn’t getting his own way, when he wasn’t getting competitive minutes.
“He had a lot of good things to say about him, which was refreshing.”
Before they consider their club futures, Ireland’s Under-21 stars can book a place in next summer’s European Championships with a win over Italy on Tuesday in Ascoli.
Any other result would see Italy head straight to the finals and send Ireland into the September play-offs.
Ukraine, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Israel and Iceland are already in the play-offs.
RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player will broadcast Tuesday’s game live (4.30pm Irish time).
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