Loyal Grealish staying in the green zone

As Jack Grealish awoke at his family home in Solihull yesterday morning, he was oblivious to the conversation progressing from the topic of his dazzling display at Wembley on Sunday onto which country he’ll represent at senior level.

The 19-year-old remains Ireland’s player to lose. Having represented the country of his grandparents for the past five years up to U21 level, the hype machine escalating from his showing against Liverpool won’t deter a teenager blessed with his conviction.

England are, and always have been, on the prowl to secure the allegiance of a player born and raised in Birmingham.

So effective was Grealish’s performance in helping Aston Villa secure an FA Cup final place on May 30 that some commentators in the English media were likening the potential “loss” of the winger to another nation in the same realm as the case of Ryan Giggs snubbing them for Wales 24 years ago.

That the new kid on the block, with his rolled-down socks, aged-five shinpads and balance of a limbo-dancer, is a throwback to days of pre-Premier League innocence has only magnified his profile in his homeland since the weekend.

For any doubters of Grealish’s top-level capabilities – including Ireland manager Martin O’Neill – Sunday’s display demonstrates that age is merely a number. One swallow never made a summer but the quality of the teen has been flagged for many years by now and the big stages beckon.

After O’Neill dismissed one of those platforms being the Aviva Stadium for the crunch Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland on June 13, it sent the rumour mill into overdrive yesterday that England could be about to pounce for a disaffected prospect.

It will take more than one such slighting to cause alienation, so Grealish certainly won’t be lining out at the Dublin 4 venue for England in the much-anticipated friendly six days before the Scots visit. If the Grealish clan were that sensitive, Roy Keane’s public admonishment of the player’s father, Kevin, in November would have constituted a deal-breaker.

That deal remains intact. Upon receiving his FAI U21 Player of the Year award last month, Grealish told the nation live on air of his intention to complete a year away from the international set-up for the series of matches in September. To add clarity, his subsequent interview with FAI TV spelt out that return to be in the green jersey.

Having played for Ireland in the most recent U21 campaign, Grealish is ineligible to be parachuted into the England set-up for the upcoming finals tournament alongside the likes of Harry Kane and Danny Ings. That sparked talk last night of him receiving an invitation into England’s U20 squad.

Whatever about O’Neill’s reservations, Grealish now has a club manager fully convinced of his talents. Sunday was the third game on the spin Tim Sherwood assigned the Academy cadet the task of weaving his magic in the quest to rescue Villa’s season,

Four points were secured from the Premier League games to steer the team clear of immediate relegation danger, a precursor to his “coming of age” masterclass in the FA Cup.

For the Auld Enemy to succeed in pinching a player who Jamie Redknapp yesterday compared to his former team-mate Steve McManaman from under the FAI’s noses would amount to quite a turnaround at this stage.

After receiving his FAI award last month, Grealish retired to Murray’s Bar in O’Connell Street flanked by loyal members of his family, where he sang along to ballads belted out from a Dubliners tribute band onstage.

Amongst those surrounding the Waterford Crystal prize in the middle of the round-table were his father’s mother Margaret Grealish from Sneem, Co Kerry and brothers of his mother, Karen, who lived within a mile of the venue on Pearse Street.

It was also noteworthy during Kevin Grealish’s chirpy interview with BBC5Live last night where he chose to introduce the only reference to Ireland. Out of the picture under Paul Lambert, Jack’s father sensed a change of direction would ensue for his son when Sherwood took the reins at Villa Park in February.

“I knew Tim loved Jack from his time working in the Academy at Tottenham Hotpsur,” revealed Mr Grealish. “I was told by an FAI scout that Tim would give Jack game-time and it would be up to him not to let Tim down.”

And the source of that insight? Mark O’Toole, the FAI’s London-based scout, who first spotted Jack as a 13-year-old fledgling at the Nike Cup and promptly drafted him into the Irish U15s in 2010.