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Keeper shows his class as John Egan’s fine form with Hull offers a boost for Ireland
Gavin Bazunu put in a fine display for Bolton. Photograph: Carl Recine/Getty Imagesteam-mate Shane Duffy dubbed him “Superman” for pulling off a slew of big saves that only enhanced an already impressive highlights reel at international level.
That was five years ago, when the then 19-year-old was viewed as the real deal on loan at Portsmouth from Manchester City and firmly established as the Republic of Ireland’s No 1. At that point,But three years later, having moved to Southampton, Superman found his kryptonite in the form of a serious Achilles injury that sidelined him for the best part of nine months and sparked a prolonged period of frustration that saw loan moves to Standard Liege and – in January of this year – Stoke City disrupted by subsequent knee and thigh injuries respectively.
Kelleher, of course, had kicked on in his absence to become Ireland’s undisputed first-choice goalkeeper, while Bazunu scrambled to catch any sort of break before pitching up at Championship new boys Bolton Wanderers two weeks ago on a three-year deal. Guimarães and Saka fire Arsenal to win at SunderlandAfter warming the bench for three games, Bazunu was catapulted into quite the rollercoaster week.
Last Tuesday night, social media’s unforgiving looking glass painted him in the worst possible light, having been at fault for West Ham’s winning goal in a 3-2 home defeat. There’s no escaping the papier-mâché element to his weak attempt to keep Jarrod Bowen’s shot from crossing the line, fuelling angry online posts from sections of the Bolton support as to what exactly they had signed.
But fast-forward to Saturday and Bazunu was back reeling in the years with a man-of-the-match performance in the 1-0 win over Brian Barry-Murphy’s Cardiff City, earning “prime Casillas” plaudits from one supporter online, while feeling the love from his new manager Steven Schumacher, who hailed Bazunu as “outstanding”. Bazunu hasn’t played for Ireland in two-and-a-half years, and that’s unlikely to change any time soon considering Kelleher’s standing in the team.
But Saturday’s rare moment in the spotlight was at least a positive step forward for a player eager to emerge from the shadows.said: “No, he won’t be involved this side of the international break. Unfortunately, he’s picked up a calf injury.
“He probably felt it a little bit earlier in the game and tried to play through it, naturally, like he would, given the type of character he is and being one of our leaders and our captains. So, no, unfortunately he won’t be involved. ”Heimir Hallgrímsson , the Ireland manager will be heartened by John Egan’s form at Hull City, who picked up another valuable point in their 2-2 draw at Chelsea.
Turning 34 next month, and recently armed with a new two-year contract, the defender has been central to their solid start.made a timely first appearance of the season on Saturday, featuring at right back for the last 15 minutes of Everton’s scoreless draw away to Tottenham. He may be out of favour at his club, but expect him to play an important role for Ireland across the upcoming Nations League games. As it happens.
Kosovo will also be without their captain for the game with Ireland in Pristina on Thursday week. Napoli defender Amir Rrahmani – skipper of the national team for the last seven years – announced his shock retirement from international football over the weekend, citing a row with Football Federation of Kosovo chiefs.
Hallgrímsson will name his squad on Thursday for that game, and the home clash with Austria that is sandwiched in between the controversial Israel double-header, with both of those matches being played at neutral venues in Hungary and Serbia.maintained his run of early season form with a third goal of the season in Swansea City’s 3-1 win over Burnley andcontinued to lay down markers at Southampton with a goal and two assists in their 4-1 win over Jason Knight’s Bristol City.will be another key figure for Hallgrímsson over this international window and he got another 23 minutes off the bench in Lincoln City’s 1-0 Championship win at Preston North End, following his loan move from Ipswich at the start of the month.
On Monday night, the Irish spotlight will shine back on Spain for the latest instalment of Troy’s story. Fresh from his match-winning exploits against Real Madrid and then Lille in the Champions League,Manchester City recover from Phil Foden red card as Erling Haaland wins derby at Old TraffordGuimarães and Saka fire Arsenal to win at SunderlandTrump says he is going to ‘take the tariffs off’ Irish whiskey at Irish Open presentationAnnalise Murphy: ‘Juliette’s the one I think about constantly.
I can’t imagine life without her now’Trump says he is going to ‘take the tariffs off’ Irish whiskey at Irish Open presentationShane Lowry distils the mania around him as Donald Trump and Clare Force One hit the course Latest news from the world of sport, along with the best in opinion from our outstanding team of sports writers
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