Ireland and Aston Villa legend Paul McGrath believes Jack Grealish has made a mistake by choosing to play with England over the Republic of Ireland.
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Solihull-born Grealish announced this week he wanted to make himself available to the country of his birth instead of the Republic of Ireland, who he represented at youth level because he has Irish-born grandparents.
It is understood that the FA expects his global clearance will not be granted for four to six weeks.
It was widely reported recently that Roy Hodgson will name the 20-year-old in his squad to face Estonia and Lithuania in England’s upcoming qualifiers.
Villa boss Tim Sherwood claimed at the weekend he would not accept an offer of £60 million for his services. “He has to play regularly at Villa, for his own peace of mind as much as anything”.
England have already secured qualification for Euro 2016 and November’s friendlies against Spain and France will provide the next opportunity for Grealish to make his full worldwide bow. We’re looking for a few improved performances from him now on the pitch so those global managers are very excited and choose to pick him.
“It’s good news for England”, Sherwood said.
“I spoke to his father, I spoke to Jack and he’s a young kid coming through with a lot of potential and I think they just want to take a little bit of time”.
‘He has loads of potential – and that’s what it is at the moment. He’s got a long way to go.
“He would have got more regular worldwide football with Ireland and it would have been great if he had picked us”.
“He still has a lot to prove, he has shown he has great ability”.
But, whilst Timmy reckons that Grealish’s decision to declare for England is a good thing for his country, he thinks that the player will struggle to get in to the squad.
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“I would have opted for Ireland if I was him because I think his chances of getting a regular spot with the England team are more limited”, the 83-time capped McGrath told RTÉ’s 2fm.
