IT WAS A move which promised so much, but Jack Byrne’s loan spell with Blackburn Rovers is set to be cut short this month.
The Ireland underage international moved to the Championship club on a season-long loan at the start of the campaign but has failed to make an impression at Ewood Park and is now set to return to parent club Manchester City.
Byrne, who trained with Martin O’Neill’s Irish senior squad last year, has found first team opportunities hard to come by under Owen Coyle and hasn’t started for Blackburn since August.
In total, the 20-year-old has featured just four times in the league for the club and recently lined-out for Blackburn’s U23 side in a bid to work his way back into the fold.
Speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph, Coyle admitted that the midfielder needs game time.
“I have had dialogue with Manchester City over Jack Byrne who we know is a very talented player,” he said.
“He will have a terrific career but I think it’s important Jack gets some game-time and he’s not had that of late.
“To be fair he has been ill over Christmas. The likelihood is that Jack will return to Manchester City and get some game-time, whether that be with another loan spell or in the youth teams.”
This season will have been a source of great frustration for the Dubliner who had made such encouraging progress with Dutch side Cambuur last year, scoring four goals in 27 games in the Eredivisie.
His performances caught the eye and last March was called up to train with the Ireland senior squad ahead of friendlies against Slovakia and Switzerland.
Byrne is widely-regarded as one of Ireland’s most exciting young prospects and has been likened to Paul Scholes by former Man City elite development squad manager Patrick Vieira.
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Things to learn from 2012: don’t be sh!te
Given, O’Shea, Keane & Doyle have been great servants for us but its time for all 4 of them to retire after euro 2016 and give the younger players like Duffy, O’Dowda & Byrne a chance.
Starting 11 should be: Randolph Coleman Clark Keogh Brady McCarthy Hendrick Walters Hoolahan McClean Long
Such a let down and anti climax. I remember my own boys and their friends all decked out in green……so let’s manage expectations
Don’t play injured goalkeepers. Stop using players for media work cos they have native accents and thus include them in the 23. Let the people follow the Irish team and not some country called 3
It’s coming home
To be fair we overachieved in most tournaments prior to 2012 so we were due a bad one
Not sure getting out of the group should be the minimum for every tournament. We had come top players in them tournament also..
Don’t think it could ever be as bad as the Trapattoni era again, ugh, just typing that old spoofers name has left me depressed.