Will Smallbone won't be tempted by England switch

Southampton's Will Smallbone celebrates scoring a debut goal in the FA Cup against Huddersfield at St Mary's.
Rising star Will Smallbone has assured Irish fans that he wonāt be replicating Declan Rice and Jack Grealish by abandoning the Boys in Green for England.
The midfielder (20) has made quite a splash in his homeland by clocking up 16 appearances in 2020 for Southampton, naturally sparking interest from the English FA.
Smallbone has only ever represented Ireland at international level, declaring at 18 through his Kilkenny-born mother Mary, and will make his U21 debut in todayās Euro qualifier in Italy (4pm, Irish time).
Recent changes in FIFA rules would allow Smallbone to even switch to England after representing Ireland at senior level but the player doesnāt seem to be interested.
His Ireland U21 boss Jim Crawford is also confident there will be no defection as Smallboneās second-generation eligibility copperfastens his ties.
āMy mum has loved me playing for Ireland,ā explained Smallbone.
āBeing from Kilkenny, she's buzzing and very proud that I can wear this Irish shirt.
āI came over to Ireland as a kid pretty much every summer to see my cousins.
āMy team-mate from Southampton, Thomas OāConnor, is also from Kilkenny and I met up with his family the last time I came over.āĀ
Asked specifically if heād be tempted by an approach from England, there was conviction in his retort.
He said: āFor me, Iāve always played for Ireland growing up through the age groups and Iād love to go into the senior squad.
āIāve very much only ever looked forward to playing for Ireland and thatās still the same now.āĀ
Smallboneās fellow Saints Michael Obafemi should also start in Pisa against an Italian side depleted by the withdrawal of seven players who tested Covid-19 positive in the past week.
āI think we have the players to go out and beat Italy today,ā declared Smallbone.
G Bazunu (Rochdale); L OāConnor (Tranmere Rovers), C Masterson (QPR), N Collins (Stoke City), D Leahy (Dundalk); W Smallbone (Southampton), C Coventry (West Ham United); Z Elbouzedi (Lincoln City), C Ronan (Grasshopper, Zurich), M Obafemi (Southampton); J Afolabi (Dundee).