\u201cIn that clip, he was actually asking if my Portuguese was good,\u201d revealed the teenager.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was laughing and saying, \u2018it’s alright\u2019. Even in the training session, he was talking to me a couple more times.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe liked to watch academy games and reward players by promoting them, some for their first-team debut.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s one of the best managers in the world so to have him give me the advice that I need was really good.\u201d<\/p>\n
In similar fashion to Mourinho departing for a second spell at Real Madrid, players can endure a change to trajectory in an instant.<\/p>\n
Franco\u2019s absence since his cameo against Arsenal, on just his second outing for Pompey after moving from Crystal Palace, is a reminder of the perils of presuming an uninterrupted route to the top.<\/p>\n
\u201cInjuries can come out of nowhere when you don\u2019t expect it,\u201d stresses Jaden.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when it happens. it is about picking up where you left off, being a better player than you were before the injury. That just gives you motivation, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019ll likely be working under current Fulham boss Marco Silva when he returns to Benfica\u2019s Lisbon base for next pre-season.<\/p>\n
Until then, the sole manager he has to impress is an Icelander willing to unleash him as rehearsal for the Uefa Nations League campaign kicking off in Kosovo on September 24.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like 1v1s,\u201d he said when invited to outline his repertoire. \u201cI’m quick – or that’s what people say anyway – I like to perform skills, win my aerial duels, assist and score goals.<\/p>\n
![\"Jaden](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5095266_7_articleinline_3469179.jpg\" "\\"Jaden")
Jaden Umeh during a Republic of Ireland training session at the FAI National Training Centre in Abbotstown. Pic: Stephen McCarthy\/Sportsfile<\/p>\n
\u201cJust like a modern-day winger, really. I do feel ready for this senior level.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst of all, my mindset is in the right position right now. And, physicality. I truly do think I’m ready.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Benfica, training with the first team or even with the B team who play in a professional league as well, I’ve found it an easy transition.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve developed so much from a young Cork guy going to a new country at 16 to live alone. I wasn\u2019t going over just for a holiday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThursday will hopefully be my first time playing at Lansdowne Road. I\u2019ve been there, but only to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019ll leave the tunnel area behind a player whose jersey he walked by after every training session in Mahon.<\/p>\n
Caoimh\u00edn Kelleher is revered at Ringmahon, not alone for the millions he\u2019s generated, but as a trailblazer for wannabe players in his wake.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up, Caoimh\u00edn was the talk of Cork,\u201d he continued. “To be here with them is definitely something special. I’m grateful for this opportunity.<\/p>\n
“It’s just a great honour to be playing with him. I would say he\u2019s a Ringmahon legend at this point.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery kid wants to be like him so for me to be training with him is something special.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Similarities between the two Umeh brothers playing in the same position with the same style were inevitable growing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":468852,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2110,61,60,43,1842],"class_list":["post-468851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-cork-sport","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-republic-of-ireland-mnt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=468851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/468852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=468851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=468851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=468851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}