Ireland bid to lure Tiger Davies

Hull City defender Curtis Davies is being strongly courted to declare for the Republic of Ireland ahead of the Euro 2016 qualifiers.

The recently turned 29-year-old was bought by Martin O’Neill as Aston Villa manager and qualifies for the country through his grandparents.

Although Davies was critical of O’Neill after he was sacked by Villa, it hasn’t stopped the Derryman inquiring about the player’s international ambitions.

It’s believed a charm offensive has been launched to convince him to wear the green. As well as club-mates such as Shane Long, David Meyler and Alex Bruce, others at the KC Stadium are said to be keen to see him commit to Ireland.

Described by Steve Bruce as “the best English player never to play for England”, there had been reports London-born Davies had been approached by the FAI prior to O’Neill taking over from Giovanni Trapattoni.

However, the player is still said to be undecided about his future, and the fear in the Ireland camp is Roy Hodgson may call him up to play in one of England’s pre-World Cup friendlies.

Davies, who has two England U21 caps, has been included in provisional senior squads in the past but has yet to make an appearance.

A linchpin for Hull as they have climbed up the Premier League in recent weeks, Davies is in line to pick up the club’s player of the year award and is a contender for the Premier League team of the season.

Meanwhile, O’Neill and assistant manager Roy Keane are all but certain to be part of ITV’s World Cup coverage in Brazil with each expected to pick up more than £150,000 for their punditry services.