No wonder Martin O’Neill is happy to give the youngster more time
The tug of war over Jack Grealish’s international allegiance shows no sign of a resolution, but each week the Aston Villa man delays his decision on whether to represent England or the Republic of Ireland at senior level could shift the balance slightly towards the men in green, according to the Irish Sun.
The 19-year-old attacker will be hoping to feature in Euro 2016, but if he wants to do it for England, the Ireland Under-21 star will be forced to wait for Fifa to push through his switch in nationality.
Having dealt with Fifa’s player status committee on many occasions in the past, the FAI are well aware that the switch will take up to six months to process, ruling Grealish out of all internationals until March, giving the Birmingham-born player just a few months to force his way into Roy Hodgson’s plans for the finals in France.
Grealish would walk straight into Ireland’s squad, however, but to make the unless Ireland’s current position in Group D improves then that avenue to Euro 2016 will most certainly be closed as well.
