Back in 2014, the Daily Mail reported that Mark Noble was being pursued by Martin O'Neill to aid his Euro 2016 qualification campaign.
The West Ham midfielder qualifies to play for Ireland through his paternal grandparents.
Shortly after those reports emerged, Noble was asked about the possibility during an appearance on Sky Sports. Noble was cagey and non-committal with his answer.
Talk of Noble - who has represented England at various underage levels - becoming an Ireland international has since dissipated.
Speaking to The Times ahead of West Ham's FA Cup semi-final against Man Utd, Noble explained why he turned down the opportunity to pull on the green shirt.
I have a chance of playing for Ireland. My nan and grandad are full Irish. I’ve been approached and asked. But there are full Irish boys out there who would love to play for Ireland, like me with England. I wouldn’t put myself into something I wasn’t fully committed to. I wouldn’t want to take that chance off a full Irish player.
Noble is in his prime right now. Given West Ham's current form - and his key part in it - the 28-year-old cannot be far off receiving his first England cap.
I’m patriotic. I’d love to play for England. I played England Under-15 to Under-21. A lot of people are talking about me and England. If it happens, it happens. It [lack of a call] doesn’t get me down. If I’m out on holiday [during the Euros] and the game’s on I’ll watch England for sure. But it will be difficult. I know a lot of the boys personally. I know they really care about the country, they want to win, they have feelings and it’s not nice when they get dug out if things go wrong.
Picture credit; Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE
