Northern Ireland appear to win tug of war for Arsenal youngster Ceadach O'Neill

THE FUTURE OF potential Ireland player Ceadach O’Neill appears to be decided, after the Arsenal player has been named in Michael O’Neill’s latest Northern Ireland squad ahead of the Uefa Nations League fixtures.

There had been some speculation that O’Neill, a nephew of former Derry GAA forward Eoin Bradley, could have switched his international allegiance to Ireland.

However, it would appear that Northern Ireland have won that battle with O’Neill in line to appear in the upcoming games.

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Northern Ireland have Georgia away (25 September) before a home fixture against Hungary on 28 September.

They will then be away to Slovakia to face Ukraine on 2 October and finish this spell by playing Georgia in Belfast on 5 October.

O’Neill came off the bench in recent friendly matches for Northern Ireland against Guinea and France in June. Should he play twice more, it would leave him ineligible to declare for Ireland.

The young striker, signed from Linfield in 2024, has shown some promise and has been carried in some Arsenal squads during pre-season, getting game time against Real Betis in the Aviva Stadium.

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