O’Neill keen on Hogan

MARTiN O’Neill looks set to turn to Aston Villa striker Scott hogan for Republic of ireland’s World Cup showdown in Wales next month.

The 25-year-old — born in Salford — has told O’Neill he wants to declare his allegiance to the country of his grandparents.

hogan had delayed his decision as he recovered from a serious knee injury and completed his £12million move to Villa from Brentford in January.

But after meeting with O’Neill during the summer, hogan has now applied for an irish passport and the paperwork should be complete in time for the final two matches of ireland’s qualifying campaign. They face Moldova in Dublin on October 6 before travelling to Cardiff three days later.

ireland will almost certainly have to win both matches to reclaim second position in Group D and a play off place for next summer’s finals. ‘i think he could be ready for next month,’ said O’Neill, who is also considering preston forward Sean Maguire. ‘You would like him and Maguire to come into the squad and maybe have a little look round for a while, it’s asking a lot to go straight in, but we’ll see.’