He said he would take 12 months to make up his mind and Jack Grealish has been good to his word.
It’s just a shame for the Republic of Ireland that the Aston Villa attacker has decided to pledge his allegiance to England.
— Jack Grealish (@JackGrealish) September 28, 2015
BREAKING NEWS: @JackGrealish1 has made a decision over his international future and opted to play for England. #AVFC pic.twitter.com/AH20hyhuEd
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) September 28, 2015
It was widely reported this morning that Roy Hodgson will this Thursday name the 20 year old in his squad to face Estonia and Lithuania in England’s upcoming qualifiers.
Whether Hodgson selects him or not depends on international clearance, but Grealish’s club and subsequently the player himself, have confirmed he has chosen the country of his birth over Ireland
With a 100% record thus far in Group E and qualification for France next summer already secured, England boss Hodgson can afford to experiment with selection and take a chance on Grealish – who played underage with Ireland until taking a break from the Under 21s last September to consider his international future.
Since then the Birmingham native has broken into the Aston Villa team under Tim Sherwood, scoring his first senior goal for the club in the 3-2 defeat to Leicester City earlier this month.
Also in that time Ireland manager Martin O’Neill hailed a “fruitful” meeting with Grealish and his father, but it seems Hodgson is going to reap the harvest.
While the England manager had described as “tenuous” Grealish’s links to Ireland, the player must still receive international clearance this week before he is free to play for the country of his birth and the country of both his parents’ birth.
Ahead of Saturday’s loss at Anfield, Villa boss Sherwood said he would not part with Grealish for £60million. Money was never going to secure his international allegiance and it seems a promising, creative young player is now beyond Ireland’s grasp.
