Mick McCarthy responds when asked if he’s considering Tottenham Hotspur’s Troy Parrott for Republic of Ireland duty this month

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Tottenham Hotspur youngster Troy Parrott is unlikely to make the Republic of Ireland squad for the Euro 2020 playoff against Slovakia barring a late surge into Spurs first-team contention, Mick McCarthy has confirmed to the Irish Independent.

The 18-year-old striker is one of the most highly rated players in the Spurs academy, with three first-team appearances and a further three spots on the bench, not to mention a senior Republic of Ireland cap.

Despite calls for Tottenham head coach Jose Mourinho to give Parrott more game time amid the club’s crisis up front, the Portuguese has repeatedly stated that the youngster is not ready to be thrown in at the deep end.

Parrott will be on the bench for Spurs’ FA Cup clash with Norwich City, but ahead of the game, Mourinho stressed once again that the player “will come even stronger and stronger when everything happens step by step. And not immediately. Because he is not ready for immediately. So it is a process.” (Daily Mail)

Likewise, McCarthy is not looking to fast-track Parrott into first-team contention for the Republic, given there are several more experienced options up front that the youngster currently “comes close” to.

“Troy has got no chance of making the squad unless he’s playing,” said McCarthy. “Forget it; don’t even think about it. Unless, of course, Troy gets in over the weekend and does something amazing. If he comes on for five minutes and scores two goals, I might look at it different.

“Shane Long’s been playing in the Premier League and Scott Hogan has scored six goals in the last seven games. David McGoldrick is back playing. I don’t think Troy comes close to them.

“If I played somebody like that, you’d think I was bonkers. How can you justify that? Just that he’s potentially a good footballer.”

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McCarthy is absolutely right, as is Mourinho – Parrott may have been absolutely superb at youth level for Spurs but calls for him to be parachuted into first-team contention for Spurs and Ireland have snowballed and taken on a life of their own.

While you do get teenagers who instantly take to first-team football like a duck to water, Wayne Rooney at Everton one prime example, they are a rarity, and most of the time they need to be given time to develop – like Harry Kane at Spurs, for example.