Ireland U-21 midfielder Ollie O’Neill believes the League of Ireland is on an upward trajectory and becoming an attractive destination for emerging UK-based players looking for first-team football.

The Fulham winger is enjoying his first season of senior football on loan with Derry City and is one of many UK-based players who have arrived at the domestic league this term, along with the likes of Shamrock Rovers’ Johnny Kenny (Celtic) and Dundalk’s Rayhaan Tulloch (West Brom).

“I think the league is getting better, sometimes as Irish people we have a tendency to underrate it,” said O’Neill, who is on U-21 duty this week ahead of Sunday’s friendly against Iceland at Turner’s Cross.

“Maybe over the past 10 or 15 years that perception has stuck. But there are players in the league with real quality. Academy football in England is probably at a point where players need to start playing senior football. This is a route where they can do it and get quickly snapped up.

“Clubs are looking to push players out on loan a bit younger than they might have done otherwise. So maybe the League of Ireland has become a more attractive place to go and play. You are probably going to see more academy boys who don’t have links to Ireland coming over the next few years.

“Fulham think it’s good for me to go and play senior football. They are happy with Derry, a club challenging for the league and playing a good style of football. It ticks those boxes, where maybe not every club would.”

O’Neill arrived at the Brandywell last month on a half-season deal. The 20-year-old hit his first senior goal against UCD earlier this month and says he’s enjoying life with the Candystripe, who sit in second after six games.

“It’s a really good squad and city, I’ve loved every aspect of it,” said the 20-year-old midfielder.

“I’ve been getting used to the league. The tempo is a bit chaotic. The first few games are quite hectic with teams flying out of the traps. You add in crowds and things like that and it ramps things up a bit.

“There were a few (offers) in England. I had a situation with my ankle where I was out over the (UK) transfer deadline, so that put a stop to a few of those things. From that stage it was very straightforward.

“Ruaidhrí (Higgins) is very good. He has that mix of being tactically good but also a good man-manager, where players want to play for him. You don’t always necessarily get both sides of the equation, even with top managers where they are weighted towards one.

“I knew Brian (Maher) and Collie (Whelan). Joe Hodge was there and I had a chat with him. I felt like I had a fairly good handle on it before I went.”

O’Neill was brought up in London and qualifies for Ireland through his Waterford father and Galway mother. He made five appearances in the U-21s’ last campaign, and featured in the heart-breaking penalty shoot-out defeat to Israel in last September’s play-off.

“If I can use the experience of the last campaign, it would be nice,” he added.

“It was pretty much as close as you could get without qualifying. It’s a uniquely horrible way to go out of a football game. But that’s life. At least I have the consolation of being able to start another campaign, whereas for some, that was genuinely their last kick of their Irish U-21 journey.

“Irish youth football is at a really good point in terms with players coming through. It definitely feels like we are going in the right direction. If we could get over that line of qualifying, it would be great.

“Last year, in the senior squad, there were probably nine or 10 players who were eligible for the U-21s. It’s definitely nice to see there’s a structured pathway if you keep progressing.”