The defensive star was a mainstay in John Mousinho’s League One-winning team.
Despite his defensive heroics in helping Pompey win League One this season, Conor Shaughnessy has been left out of the Republic of Ireland squad.
Shaughnessy, 27, joined Fratton Park on a free transfer from Burton Albion in the summer of 2023. Many expected John Mousinho to employ the centre-back as a rotation option, but he rapidly established himself in the starting lineup, finishing the successful season as one of the squad’s most consistent performances.
The Irishman also scored the winner in the 89th minute of Pompey’s 3-2 triumph over Barnsley, securing the League One title and promotion to the EFL Championship.
Shaughnessy is ranked second on Pompey’s WhoScored.com ratings, having scored 7.09 goals in 45 league appearances this season while also making 4.3 clearances and securing 1.2 interceptions. However, these impressive numbers were insufficient to gain a call-up from Republic of Ireland interim head coach John O’Shea, who has chosen the squads that will face Hungary and Portugal on June 4 and 11, respectively.
Born in Galway, the centre-back has represented his home country at all international youth levels but has yet to be called up to the senior squad. Following such an excellent season, in which he finished third in The News’ Player of the Year poll, many would have anticipated Shaughnessy to be given the opportunity to acquire his senior cap. Shaughnessy was also named to the EFL League One Team of the Year for 2023/24, alongside fellow Blues talents Marlon Pack and Colby Bishop. He is primarily on a two-year contract, with the option of a third year. If his 2024/25 season is anything like his great efforts this season, he could very well stay at Fratton Park in 2025/26 too.
Ireland’s defenders for the upcoming friendlies are Seamus Coleman, Matt Doherty, Shane Duffy, Dara O’Shea, Jake O’Brien, Andrew Omobamidele, Liam Scales, Robbie Brady, and Enda Stevens. On the X (previously Twitter) post introducing the squad, one clearly perplexed fan commented: “How have you not called up Conor Shaughnessy?!”
Leave a Reply