“He’s got a lot of competition there for England so he needs to make sure that he is playing well for Aston Villa, and we’re sure he will”.
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Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish has nailed his colours to the mast and pledged his worldwide allegiance to England.
Grealish will not be selected for England’s upcoming Euro 2016 qualifiers against Estonia and Lithuania next month.
Another former Ireland global, Eamon Dunphy, was critical of Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane for how they handled the saga, but McGrath stressed that ultimately the decision lies with the player.
The 20-year-old Aston Villa winger was born in Solihull but has represented the Republic of Ireland at every age since Under-17 level, barring the senior side.
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 global bow.
“He would have got more regular global football with Ireland and it would have been great if he had picked us”.
Hodgson has been keen for Grealish to come to a decision about his global future and it was revealed by his club on Twitter on Monday afternoon. He was eligible to play for the Republic through his grandparents.
He said: “If he played for Ireland and Ireland qualified, he would have made the Euros, with England, and so many players fighting for places, it’s a big call”.
“I don’t think it could be money because they [players] get paid well enough”.
“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.
He has since played 21 league games for the claret and blues, scoring his first goal this month in a 3-2 defeat at Leicester.
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“He has loads of potential – that will mean he might get picked by England and becomes an worldwide but I think this championship might be a little bit too soon for him”.
