Another name was added to Blues' ever-increasing crop of young internationals this week as first year Academy scholar Shaun Timmins made his debut for the Republic of Ireland U17's.

The 16-year-old played the full 90 minutes in a 3-0 friendly win over Finland on Tuesday and gave an impressive performance on his first appearance for his country.

"Shaun Timmons produced an excellent display on his debut at left-back," said Ireland boss Sean McCaffrey.

The defender kept his place for a second game against the Finns yesterday and he again played the full match in a 6-1 win.

Ireland are building towards next month's UEFA Championship Elite phase of qualifying games against Germany, Greece and Portugal.

Blues' Academy manager Terry Westley hopes that Timmins' displays have booked his place in the squad for those qualifiers.

Timmins' call-up is another positive sign that the club's youth development programme is heading in the right direction, with the number of internationals now well into double figures.

"They came over to watch Shaun play for our U18 side and also in some of the reserve games and were impressed with what they saw," explained Westley.

"Apparently he did very well in the two games over there and should have done enough to retain his place in the squad for next month's games."

Speaking before the trip, Timmins revealed how much it was going to mean to him and his family to pull on the Ireland shirt.

"I qualify for Ireland through my grandparents. The majority of dad's family are Irish and we are the first generation to live in England," explained the Sheldon-born youngster.

"I have so much family in Ireland; it is going to be fantastic to represent the country."