“I think that it should be really aggressive scouting.”
Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson and assistant John O’Shea were spotted at Turf Moor on Friday, to watch Burnley’s 0-0 draw with Sunderland.
While Josh Cullen was the only Ireland player on show, the management knew all about the Ireland stalwart, and it was likely that potential targets on the field were the main reason for the visit.
Three Irish-qualified players also started, with Dennis Cirkin and Jobe Bellingham lining out for the Black Cats, and CJ Egan-Riley picked for the Clarets.
19-year-old Jobe, brother of Jude, is more of a long shot, given his age and the fact that he has lined out for the England Under-21s as recently as last year, and has been earmarked as a future senior international with his home country.
Egan-Riley, 22, is the only player of the three to have represented Ireland at an underage level.
While he has represented England at multiple underage levels, he lined out for Ireland U16s in the 2018 Victory Shield and has not played for England since 2021.
Left-back Dennis Cirkin, 22, who was born in Dublin, has not played underage for England since winning caps for the U20s in 2021.
With Burnley and Sunderland sitting third and fourth in the Championship, Hallgrimsson will want to boost his squad with potential Premier League players.
Hallgrimsson has been open about his plans to utilise the ‘Granny rule’ and widen the net for possible internationals, with the FAI setting up a new role to identify targets with Irish heritage.
The Icelander – who used the rule to great effect while in charge of Jamaica – said last year: “I was really aggressive getting players to play for Jamaica. I spent a lot of time doing that, I could see myself doing that in the future.
“I think time will be needed though. I don’t want to call a player and say, ‘Come and play for Ireland’ if he’s not good enough to be in the squad…
“There is someone being hired a head of talent ID for the federation, this would be his kind of job…
“It is like Jamaica, necessary to find this player at a younger age and start to play them for Ireland. Because once they become good, there is always the thought, ‘I have a chance to play for England’.
“Same in Jamaica, then we got them when they were 26 or 27, when they felt they could not play for England.
“I think that it should be really aggressive scouting, in the youth departments in England because probably most Irish eligible players are in England. I know there is a lot elsewhere as well with Irish heritage.”
