Parrott was signed by AZ Alkmaar in July after a season-long loan stint at Excelsior, who were relegated from the Eredivisie in June despite the Dubliner’s goalscoring exploits.

He quickly made an impression for AZ, netting four in a 9-1 demolition of Heerenveen last month before scoring a match-winning penalty against Elfsborg in the Europa League.

“To be away, it’s not necessarily being out of the spotlight, it’s just a new experience for me that I’m really enjoying,” said Parrott.

“For me to be enjoying my football is the most important thing and it’s one of the reasons why I’ve managed to do well up to now.”

Parrott, who made his senior international debut in 2019, scored a late winner in the Republic of Ireland’s friendly against Hungary in June.

And while that came hot on the heels of a prolific end to last season with Excelsior, he was left on the bench by new boss Heimir Hallgrimsson during last month’s defeats by England and Greece.

Parrott admits that was “disappointing” but added he is not going to “sit around and cry about” it as he looks to make an impact against Finland and Greece over the next week.

“If I get the chance to play I’m going to feel like I’m ready and like I can make an impact on the game,” he said.

“I can see why the team feels low on form because of the previous results but it’s on all of us to turn that around.”

Just over a year ago Rob Holding made a £4m deadline day switch from Arsenal to bolster Crystal Palace’s defence.

But a little more than 12 months on, when Palace issued a joint photo, external of the men’s and women’s squads to mark a club anniversary, the 29-year-old was nowhere to be seen.

Why has the two-time FA Cup winner’s career come to a standstill?

Holding, who made 162 appearances for Arsenal over seven years, is currently training with the Eagles’ under-21 team following a disagreement with manager Oliver Glasner.

“Rob is training individually at the moment,” Glasner said on 1 September, when asked about the centre-back.

“We will talk together – he knows the reason. But it is something that stays between Rob and me. Nothing public.”

Sources with knowledge of the dispute have told BBC Sport that there was a disagreement about a post-match running session following Holding’s last involvement in the first team. He was an unused substitute in a 2-0 home defeat by West Ham on 24 August.

Holding has only made one appearance for the club since he joined on a three-year deal, in the EFL Cup last season against Manchester United, and has not featured at all in the Premier League.

The U21s train at the club’s academy, a separate location to the first team’s base, and sources on both sides say that the situation for Holding is unlikely to change.

Sources close to the player say Holding is accepting of that and intends to keep training professionally and being the best he can in the circumstances.

Palace signed three centre-backs this summer, with Maxence Lacroix coming in from Wolfsburg in a deal worth £18m, Chadi Riad joining from Real Betis in a deal worth up to £14m and Trevoh Chalobah arriving on loan from Chelsea.

The Eagles also kept hold of £70m-rated England centre-back Marc Guehi and have Chris Richards, Jefferson Lerma, Joel Ward and Nathaniel Clyne as options in defence. That means that if Holding did patch things up with Glasner, he would still potentially only be the club’s eighth or ninth-choice centre-back.

Holding has deleted all references to Crystal Palace from his Instagram page and has unfollowed the club on the platform. He is still listed as a first-team player on the Palace website.

He played the full 90 minutes for the under-21s in their 3-1 victory over Gillingham in the EFL Trophy two weeks ago.

Holding is reported to have been an excellent role model at the academy, with one source describing his impact around the U21 team as “brilliant”.

But the road to first-team favour seems like a long way back for the former Arsenal player, even with Palace in the relegation zone and winless from their opening seven Premier League games.

Aberdeen left-back Jack MacKenzie, 24, is set to be called up to the Scotland squad. (Press and Journal – subscription), external

Torino striker Che Adams says he has still to hit the heights for Scotland that he has delivered at club level. (Daily Record), external

Dundee United defender Declan Gallagher will never give up on a Scotland recall but reckons team-mate Ross Graham could beat him to it. (Courier – subscription), external

Rangers should have had a penalty against St Johnstone for a shirt pull on Cyriel Dessers, believes former referee Des Roache. (Daily Record), external

Ross County striker Ronan Hale was happy to block out shouts from Kasper Schmeichel about which corner to aim for as he beat the Celtic goalkeeper with a retaken penalty on Sunday. (Daily Record), external

Former Hearts coach Gordon Forrest has joined Chinese club Shenzhen Peng City until the end of the year. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Another ex-Hearts employee, Joe Savage, has set up a consultancy that will help broker deals between agents, clubs and players, after leaving the sporting director post at Tynecastle. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

A contract extension for in-form Aberdeen full-back Nicky Devlin is a no-brainer, says former Pittodrie favourite Duncan Shearer. (Press & Journal – subscription), external

The “character and drive” of Kieron Bowie will bring the Hibernian forward back stronger after successful surgery to address a hamstring issue, says head coach David Gray. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Ianis Hagi will miss Rangers’ next three games after his red card against St Johnstone since he is suspended for two Scottish Premiership games, which are followed by a Europa League match he is ineligible for. (Daily Record), external

Ianis Hagi sent an Instagram message to fans thanking them for the warm welcome back after his long absence from the first team at Rangers. (Football Scotland), external

With eight international caps and playing regularly at Plymouth Argyle in the Championship before his injury, Hazard would have proven the natural deputy.

Pierce Charles, brother of midfielder Shea Charles, has put in a string of impressive performances for the Northern Ireland Under-21s this year, most especially in an away victory over Serbia in March and then when keeping a clean sheet against England last month.

O’Neill was sufficiently impressed with the 19-year-old to bring him along with the senior squad to Spain for a pair of friendlies in June. Although Charles did not win a first cap, O’Neill cited his ability on the ball as a major attribute to his game.

“Pierce is one of those goalkeepers that everyone is looking for in the modern game,” O’Neill said before those friendlies.

“He’s got great distribution, real composure with the ball at his feet and we know at Sheffield Wednesday they really regard him highly.”

He has, however, been on the bench at Hillsborough with England Under-21 international James Beadle having been handed the number one jersey after his arrival from Brighton and Hove Albion on a season-long loan deal.

In a similar position at his club is Luke Southwood, the 26-year-old who was on the bench against Luxembourg and Bulgaria last month in Hazard’s absence.

The Bolton Wanderers man, who won his sole cap in a 3-1 friendly win over Luxembourg in 2022, did start the 2-2 draw with Shrewsbury Town for his League One side last weekend but has spent the majority of the season behind Nathan Baxter.

O’Neill has consistently stressed a desire for his international players to be regularly playing at as high a level possible at their clubs.

Yet, before two important fixtures for his side, he is left with a decision between two keepers with precious few minutes in league action this season.

Northern Ireland are adjusting to life without Manchester United defender Jonny Evans, who called time on his international career last month. And the keeper who gets the nod will find their task made no easier by the absence of centre-back Dan Ballard through injury.

And yet should either impress in this unexpected opportunity, after Peacock-Farrell’s recent struggles for club and country, it just might give O’Neill something to think about moving towards next year’s World Cup qualifiers.