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One player a bit further along in his development is West Ham starlet Mipo Odubeko, the 18-year-old Tallaght-born striker who recently made his Hammers first-team debut in the FA Cup.
“I had him on standby at one stage for the U21s but he got injured over in West Ham,” Crawford said.
“I know all about Mipo. I had the luxury of watching a lot of his games at St Joseph’s Boys in Sallynoggin.
“I know all about the pathway he took, going to Manchester and now he’s back in London. They think very highly of him at West Ham.
“He came on in the FA Cup and was on the bench in the last game. They’ve got high hopes for him.
“I link in with [another West Ham and Ireland youngster] Conor Coventry quite a bit and there’s no harm getting a player’s perspective on a player. Conor sees him as a quality player too. He’s an exciting prospect coming through.
“I remember when he played for Joeys, the two big strikers in the country at that time were Mipo and Troy Parrott. They’ve certainly gone their separate ways, but there’s potential there with Mipo.”