The Jack Grealish saga has finally ended.
The Aston Villa winger has pledged his allegiance to the country of his birth, and is likely to be called up for England’s two November friendlies.
When news broke that Grealish had turned down the opportunity to play for the Republic of Ireland, the reactions amongst Irish fans ranged from relief, indifference, anger and disappointment.
There were also those who argued the 20 year old is ‘overrated’ and Ireland’s loss was also Grelish’s loss, as he would struggle to establish himself in the England team
I see Jack Grealish has retired from international football.
— Niall McCoy (@McCoyNiall) September 28, 2015
https://twitter.com/eamonmckelvey/status/648470996408791040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
However, Jamie Carragher’s view on the current England team might help explain why the player fancies his chances of having a fruitful England career.
“It’s never been easier to win an England call-up,” the former Liverpool defender writes in his Daily Mail column.
Carragher won 48 caps over 11 years for England, but players such as Rio Ferdinand, John Terry and Sol Campbell were often selected ahead of the former Liverpool defender.
However, Carragher believes the current England squad is effectively easy to get into if you’re a Premier League player.
According to Carragher: “Roy Hodgson’s latest squad proved how quickly a young player can be elevated,”
“Dele Alli’s inclusion in the group for the games against Lithuania and Estonia was the selection which caused eyebrows to be raised. After three Premier League starts for Tottenham and two Under 21 caps, suddenly Alli has been presented with a chance to stake his claim to go to Euro 2016.”
The Sky Sports compares the difficulty in gaining England caps during the 1990s and early 2000s, when prolific strikers such as Andy Cole and Les Ferdinand won less than 20 caps each.
“Steve Bruce famously never got picked at all when he was Manchester United captain; Gary Pallister didn’t do a great deal better with 22 caps. Yet these were all top players who, if they were playing now, would be guaranteed 70 or 80 caps.”
However, according to Carragher, the level of competition has plummeted in recent years.
Only 60 English players appeared in the Premier League last weekend, which means the chances of gaining what should be the ultimate honour for an England player are now around one in three.
Grealish evidently fancies those odds.
