Jack Grealish shows just what might have been

Having been fast-tracked through the Ireland youth ranks to U21 level by the age of 17, the Aston Villa midfielder always had a strong association with England, for whom his great great grandfather Billy Garrity won one cap

England's Jack Grealish (centre) in action as Republic of Ireland's Cyrus Christie (left) attempts to block during the international friendly at Wembley Stadium, London.

Paddy Power had a large advert prominently placed on the approach to Wembley in the build-up to last night’s game, purporting to show the heatmaps of Declan Rice and Jack Grealish made up the shape of a snake.

The clear implication was that the two players were treacherous in choosing to play for England rather than Ireland, for whom they looked destined to represent in the long term when they were coming through the youth, U21 and in Rice’s case, senior ranks.