Many will say that it comes as no surprise but Ireland's future hopes have suffered another blow in an all too familiar manner. With the likes of Jack Grealish and Dan Crowley switching their international allegiances to the country of their birth it was clear that the English FA were making moves to ensure the FAI's creeping advances were cut short.
That has once again proven to be the case with news that Arsenal youngster, Marcus Agyei-Tabi, has already completed his international switch to England having previously represented Ireland at U17 level.
We all got rather excited a couple of months ago when Agyei-Tabi was pictured training with Arsenal's first team aged just 16. That excitement was heightened when the young midfielder was included in the Guardian's '20 Best Talents At Premier League Clubs' alongside two of his Irish teammates.
However, the excitement of Irish fans around that list appears rather premature as Agyei-Tabi is in England's U17 squad to face Germany on Friday night after he received international clearance. As is reported by John Fallon in the Irish Examiner, England became aware of the youngster's talent when he faced them for Ireland during the European championships in the summer.
Plans were put in motion and Agyei-Tabi was firmly convinced that his international future lies with England. According to the FAI, 'Marcus' grandparents are from Portlaoise and Cork' but once again it seems those family ties have not been enough for the FAI to convince a young star to remain in the Irish setup.
With Grealish and Crowley's departures fresh in our minds, this latest disappointment is sure to once again put quite a bit of focus on just how much we as a football nation rely on convincing British born youngsters to play for us. As we've said before, if they want to do that, then that's great but when we're suffering because they choose not too, there's a serious problem.
