The Republic of Ireland have pulled off a coup by recruiting Belfast-born prospect Sean Moore for their European Championship qualifiers this month.

Northern Ireland had made serious attempts to keep the Cliftonville player in the fold with them but today the Republic's U19 coach Tom Mohan named Moore in his squad.

Moore (17) broke into the Reds first team last season but has been a regular this term and he is being tracked by a number of Premier League clubs.

They play Slovakia, Estonia and Greece in the Elite round of qualifiers in Wexford later this month, with the winners of that four-team group advancing to the U19 finals in Malta.

“It is the first time since 2019 that an Irish Men’s U19 team has had the opportunity to play in front of a home crowd. I’m looking forward to bringing this exciting team to Wexford to play Slovakia, Estonia and Greece," Mohan said.

“They are three challenging teams and it’s for us to find a way to overcome them. My staff, the players and I will embrace this challenge and can’t wait to get into camp.”

Mohan also includes four Italian-based players with home-based prospects Reece Byrne and James McManus (Bohemians), Tom Lonergan and Sam Curtis (St Patrick's Athletic) and Justin Ferizaj (Shamrock Rovers) also named in the squad.