Arsenal midfielder Dan Crowley has signed his first professional contract with the club, the day after he turned 17. Crowley was signed from Aston Villa in a £1 million deal last year and he is held in very high regard by Arsene Wenger and the coaching staff at Arsenal. He is often compared to Jack Wilshere in his style of play and the England midfielder has been one of those signing Crowley's praises.
Everybody follow @danielcrowley24 trust me when I say this kid is a player! Big future....
— Jack Wilshere (@JackWilshere) October 31, 2013
The main point of interest to Ireland fans is that Crowley has been at the centre of something of a tug-of-war between Ireland and England over the last couple of years. Crowley, who has Irish grandparents, had played for Ireland at u-15 and u-16 levels before switching to England's underage set-up last year. However, while he is being touted as a future England midfielder, he hasn't yet shut the door on switching back to play for the boys in green.
Just this week, Crowley told the Hackney Gazette that he had yet to definitively make up his mind either way.
I don’t really know – I’m going to see what happens. My grandparents are Irish. I played for Ireland and when I was Under-16 I went for trials with England and got in. I’m still young and I’d never rule anything out because you just don’t know what’s round the corner.
Judging by the kind of ability he has shown so far at Arsenal, we're crossing our fingers that he might see fit to come back into the Irish fold.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmsx5RPpLU8
