Grealish won’t rush Ireland call as club future first for now

Martin O’Neill can expect to wait until next summer at the earliest for Jack Grealish to commit his international future to Ireland or England.

The Birmingham-born winger has been capped by Ireland at underage level but, amid renewed interest from the Three Lions in the Aston Villa starlet, O’Neill met with Grealish and his father Kevin in Birmingham, on August 20.

Grealish’s explanation for declaring himself out of contention for the opening Euro 2016 qualifier against Georgia last Sunday was accepted by O’Neill.

The stance doesn’t heighten the prospect of him jumping ship to England, rather reflecting a chain of priorities at this early stage of a potentially long career. While England’s FA are trying to lure Grealish where they twice already failed, any switch to England at this stage would prevent him returning to the Ireland set-up.

“Things have just happened very quickly for me this season and I need to put on my club future first before thinking about the international situation,” explained the teen.

“My father and I didn’t want to go into the meeting and Martin being like ‘come on and play for Ireland’. He didn’t put me under pressure to make a decision. He sat me down, treated me like a man and talked through everything. It wasn’t just about football but growing up as a footballer and where my grandparents are from in Ireland.

“That’s what I wanted to hear from Martin because it is a big decision to make and one I want to take my time over.”

Despite that timeline for a decision rendering Grealish unavailable over the first half of Ireland’s qualifiers, O’Neill is unlikely to be put out.

The Ireland manager is on record for refusing to compare the youngster’s case with that of 27-year-old Mark Noble, whom he’s urged to make a swift declaration.

O’Neill’s patience and understanding may not be universally shared by his players, if an exchange Grealish had on his last Premier League outing is anything to go by.

After becoming one of three Hull City players booked for fouls on Grealish in a 15-minute blitz, Stephen Quinn is alleged to have made had a dig at Grealish’s stance. “He called me a Fake Paddy,” quipped Grealish about Quinn with a laugh.

“That’s what I have to expect though now. Football banter can be like that and I’m not a kid anymore so there’s no problem.”