In reality, he was never going to, but Paul Scholes could have played for Ireland if he wanted to. He wasn't the first player in that position and he won't be the last. For Scholes, there was never any question where his international allegiance lay but the same can't be said for Jack Grealish.
On my mum Marie’s side, my Nana was from the Republic of Ireland and my Granddad was from the north. Lots of families in Manchester have strong Irish connections but it never occurred to me to play for anyone other than England.
The Aston Villa youngster is very much in vogue on both sides of the Irish Sea at the moment and Scholes has used his column in the Independent today to address Grealish's much discussed choice.
While saying that England should be trying to get Grealish on board, Scholes offered a word of caution saying 'let’s not go overboard yet, there are the makings of a decent player there.' And the former Man United midfielder went on to question why Grealish was dragging out the decision longer than necessary
What I don’t understand is why he has taken time off from international football. You need to start playing international football first before you think about taking time off. I guess it is about giving himself time to choose between Ireland and England. The Republic will always need him more but England is where he will play at the higher level.
At the moment, it's difficult to argue with that. However, as much as he may not understand it, it doesn't seem that the choice is quite as easy for Grealish as it was for Scholes.
See also: Forget Granny Ruling, These Stats Show Irish Football’s Real Problem
[Independent]
