ENGLAND COACH ROY Hodgson has weighed in on the Jack Grealish situation, saying he won’t put “undue influence” on the youngster to represent the Three Lions at senior level.
Grealish has played for Ireland at underage level, and was strongly linked with a call-up to Martin O’Neill’s senior team for their upcoming games against England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but the Aston Villa youngster was ultimately conspicuous by his absence from the squad.
O’Neill subsequently revealed that Grealish had rejected a call-up by Ireland, leading many to speculate that he was set to declare for England, however the player was not included in Hodgson’s squad today either.
Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, the former Liverpool coach insisted that he would not pressurise the Birmingham-born player into a decision.
“I think it’s important that we leave it to him. He is a very talented player and has been on the radar of our younger teams.
“I have known about him and recently he has broken into the Aston Villa team, which raises the subject.
“He could play for either country, which one’s it going to be? As far as I’m concerned it’s got to be Jack’s decision and I don’t think we should be putting undue influence on him.”
