Jack Grealish ‘at a crossroads’, says Villa team-mate Shay Given

Shay Given feels his Aston Villa team-mate Jack Grealish is at a crossroads in his international career and may be confused as to whether he’ll stick with Ireland.

Donegal native Given has seen first-hand the Ireland U21 winger develop at Villa and was sufficiently impressed by last September to predict him to surpass the 100 cap mark in an Irish shirt.

Grealish, however, has yet to win a senior Ireland cap, fuelling fears he could defect to England.

Given admits the stellar showing from the 19-year-old in Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final victory over Liverpool will serve to only harden England’s pursuit of their target.

“Of course, I’d love to see him come with us,” Given told Newstalk on the occasion of his 39th birthday.

“I talk to him about it but it’s not even to persuade him because I think he’s just a bit confused at the minute. He got a great welcome at the FAI awards recently but the flip-side is, because he’s played the last three games, the English FA will be thinking they need to get this guy onto their books. Jack told me he loves playing for Ireland but he’s at a crossroads now. “

He does have a strong Irish connection but he was born in England. It’s a tricky one. It’s a big decision to make.”

Asked whether he agreed with Martin O’Neill’s view that the June 13 qualifier against Scotland was too soon for Grealish, he replied diplomatically: “Martin probably thinks he already has players in that position.”