Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Gers near Alves deal
The in-form Ross County striker ended the Scottish Premiership season top goal scorer after bagging 23 in 34 league games.
The 26-year-old’s tally – which came at a prolific rate of a goal every 129 minutes – eclipsed Celtic stars Scott Sinclair and Moussa Dembele who scored 21 and 17 respectively.
O’neill has been a regular visitor to Dingwall in recent months and is confident Boyce can grab centre stage if required in Baku on June 10.
“I’ve been very impressed and I’ve no doubt if given the chance he will take it,” he said. “I think Liam offers a lot as a striker. The one thing I like is the range of goals he scored this season. He’s also deceptively quicker than people give him credit for.
“He has a great touch, his link-up play is good and he’s as fit as he’s ever been. He’s also adaptable – I’ve seen him play in a 3-5-2 or 4-3-3.
“He has brought his level of play to the next level and the challenge now will be to bring that to the international stage.”
Boyce’s claim for a starting role is boosted by the absence of injured duo Jamie Ward and Will Grigg, while QPR’S Conor Washington also misses out due to the timing of his wedding.
Kyle Lafferty, recently released by Norwich, is included in O’neill’s 25-man squad but his lack of game time is a concern.
O’neill said: “We have what we have to choose from, but a big opportunity exists, particularly for Liam coming off the back of the season he had.”
Boyce missed the cut for last summer’s Euro 2016 tournament in France, but has impressed with his recent application and eye for goal.
O’neill said: “The previous two seasons, he maybe had a great first half or second half of the season.
“He struggled in big games which probably went against him when it came to picking the 23 for France. It was a toss of a coin between Liam and Will Grigg for the Euros.
“But after getting over the disappointment of not going to France, he has reacted really well – not only with his goals but he has also played slightly deeper on occasions and in wide areas. All players have to react properly and Liam has done that.”
O’neill has slight injury concerns over WBA defender Gareth Mcauley and Watford’s Craig
Cathcart.
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