Hibs star branded international quality with mega potential as 'priority' task named amid passport issue
The striker arrived at Hibs in the summer and is lauded as a high-potential star.
Sligo Rovers manager John Russell reckons Hibs striker Owen Elding would be in the senior Republic of Ireland mix - if his passport issues were sorted.
The young forward joined the Easter Road side in the winter transfer window from Sligo, and has hit the ground running, impressing with two goals in four games. Elding turned heads across Europe with his breakthrough season at League of Ireland level last year when he netted 16 times with five assists for Russell’s side.
Hibs teammate Jamie McGrath is already part of the Republic of Ireland shake-up while Johnny Kenny, on loan at Bolton from Celtic, has got involved having previously broken through at the Showgrounds under Russell. Elding was born in England and moved to Ireland in 2013 after dad, Anthony, signed for the Bit O’ Red in 2013. He hasn’t got the go-ahead to represent Ireland but there’s hopes he could go straight into Heimir Hallgrimsson’s plans, with his potential sky-high.
Could Hibs star play for Ireland?
Russell said to Irish media: “I think he’s going to be a senior international. He’s going to go up the levels. It hasn’t surprised me what he’s done so far in a short space of time at Hibs. He’s got huge potential. I think the priority for him is to get his passport sorted and get into the 21s first probably.
“But we’ve seen in the past where players can just jump that and go straight into the senior team. Because of the position that he plays, everyone’s looking for a goal scorer. Someone who can make the difference in the final third. Owen’s definitely a player who can do that.
“Sometimes it can just fall right for them around a window where they catch fire and they’re scoring goals. If he was eligible, he would be in the mix. People would be talking about him. It’s good to see at the moment a couple of players within our own league are being mentioned which shows that the league is on the rise.
What Sligo said about Owen Elding
“That these players are being looked at because they’re performing on the European stage in these group stages. There’s not a huge amount of difference. It’s probably just the optics of our league sometimes, with the grounds and that, the actual style and the quality of the games and players is there.
“Every manager, in league or international football, you want someone who can score goals and make the difference, whether that’s starting or coming off the bench. I’m hoping Johnny’s in the squad. I do think you could see him making the difference in these games where there’s so much at stake, the pressure’s on, and people don’t want to make mistakes. It’s those players that can pounce in a moment. Johnny is capable of doing that.”
Next up for Elding and Hibs is a home clash with Livingston in the Premiership this weekend. After that, David Gray’s side go to Motherwell, currently sitting fifth and seven point off the Steelmen above them who hold the last automatic European qualifier spot.