Potentially eligible players thread

[Murph 1]

Hi- Agree to an extent with DannyInvicible, Yes ideally we would like to develop enough of our own Irish born players to International standard, Some of these players will move across the water at a young age with dreams of all things wonderful, Unfortunately for numerous reasons only a tiny minority will reach the required standard, others such as Seamus Coleman, Shane Long and Kevin Doyle will move at an older age from League of Ireland clubs. Our second avenue is players born in Northern Ireland who for personal reasons will only feel comfortable playing with the Republic, this avenue of approach has given us McLean, Gibson, Duffy, Wilson,O Kane, Liam McAlinden and many more in the recent past, The third option is players with an Irish heritage born outside of Ireland but eligible through a parent/grandparent. This avenue of recruitement has to be given more priority by the FAI as the quality of player slipping through our fingers is going to have serious consequences as we approach the next World Cup qualifying campaign and beyond. The FAI and in particular John Delaney must employ ex internationals such as Kevin Kilbane, Steven Reid ,Steven Hunt to mention but a few.Maybe a conversation with one of these ex internationals would clear up any doubts a young 17/19 year old would have as to their International allegiance.

[DannyInvincible]

Ideally, we'd be able to sustain a system/league that could develop and host international-standard players - other similarly-sized populations around Europe can manage - but that's a pipe-dream at the present juncture. Viewing ourselves as a sort of inherently-inferior cattle-market for British clubs won't help.

Liam McAlinden is actually from the West Midlands in England, albeit his roots are northern. Plenty of Ireland-supporting northern nationalists are content to play for NI for reasons of pragmatism/career progression rather than as a necessary expression of their national identity. Niall McGinn is one example who was open about his support for Ireland (immediately after a game between NI and ourselves actually) and his reasons for playing for the IFA. He'd have played for Ireland if he'd been offered the opportunity, but perhaps didn't have enough faith in his ability to hold out so accepted the call-up for NI when it came. The IFA youth teams are similarly full of Ireland-supporting players. As NI youth teams line up for "their" anthem pre-game, you might even find a near full row of players with heads down. Indeed, a few of those players you mention - McClean, Duffy and O'Kane, for example - played for the IFA at under-age level. Generally, Ireland was their preference though and they feel more culturally comfortable with Ireland, although O'Kane did assert that his decision to switch was purely for footballing reasons and rejected notions that it might have been for identity reasons. He was possibly trying to relieve the sort of heat and vitriol directed towards the others. If so, it's a sorry state of affairs that a young player might feel ashamed of admitting that he simply wanted to play for the team with whom he more identified culturally.

Stephen Hunt is from Waterford, by the way. Not sure if you were insinuating he was a dual national by mentioning him in the same bracket as Kilbane and Reid.

[Crosby87]

Instead of every country in Europe having its own "league" that no one cares about, certain countries should get together and combine to make one league. I've planned this out for a while now. Say...Ireland, Switzerland, Czech, Austria, some others. Sweden maybe. Holland. There would be a few existing teams from each country. SO what if you have to fly to road games. There would be more revenue. We would call it "The NEXT League." It would be way more fun. Also there would be playoffs. Top 8 teams every year with a Super Bowl final rotating between countries. It would gradually improve and eventually be on the level with EPL, Serie, Liga and Bundy.
I have a presentation at the ready.

[DannyInvincible]

An article on Harry Kane's roots in the Connacht Tribune here: http://connachttribune.ie/harry-kane-hes-one-of-our-own-909/


Tottenham Hotspur’s North London fans sing proudly that he’s one of their own – but Harry Kane, one of football’s hottest properties, is really one of ours….because he has his roots deep in the Galway Gaeltacht.

The England international has scores of close relatives in the Letterfrack and Renvyle area – so much so that his father was back to renew acquaintances with them this week.

Harry’s grandfather, Michael John Kane, was born and reared in the townland of Dawros in Letterfrack; he emigrated to England as a young man.

Michael John died in May 2013 and was brought back home to be buried in the local cemetery. Indeed, his grandson – less well known then – was back for the funeral.

Harry’s father, Patrick Kane, who is back on a visit to Letterfrack this week, said that the young star footballer had tentative plans to come to visit family in Connemara last year but that his schedule is extremely tight.

Patrick would like to see him coming to Connemara more often. “It would be a good place for him to get away from it all sometimes,” said his father. However, the intensity of the Premier Division football and his England commitments mean that free time is very limited.

Patrick wouldn’t be drawn on a suggestion that Harry might have a place in the Letterfrack/Renvyle area in the future. “He is a very young man and it’s too early to look down the road,” he said.

There's more in the actual paper itself. I've not got a copy, but Balls.ie have quoted some of it: http://www.balls.ie/football/harry-kanes-father-says-the-fai-never-pursued-him-in-his-younger-days/322865


In March last year, Martin O'Neill disclosed that a relative of Harry Kane had called him to say that the Spurs man was interested in playing for Ireland.

Shortly afterwards, however, O'Neill spotted in a newspaper that Kane had declared his loyalty to England.

As the Connacht Tribune boasts this week, Kane's paternal grandfather - Michael John Keane - is from Connemara. Harry's father Patrick was in Galway this week to visit his relatives in Letterfrack. Harry was last in the area four years back for the funeral of his grandfather.

Patrick told the Connacht Tribune that the Irish football authorities made no attempt to reach him in his younger days. As the paper writes;


"Harry Kane was brought into the Tottenham Hotspur at twelve years of age and he has played at all underage levels for England.

He would have been eligible to play for Ireland but his father said he was never approached by the Irish football authorities in his earlier years."

Last year, Eamon Dunphy told us that Ireland could have gotten Harry Kane had we 'been doing our work properly' in recruiting players from English football.

Dunphy credited Jack Charlton's zeal in seeking out English and Scottish born players of Irish extraction in the late 80s with helping to power much of Ireland's success in the golden era.


"I think Jack did really well to source players like Ray Houghton, John Aldridge, and John Giles before him, in sourcing Mark Lawrenson and getting him to commit to Ireland. If you see, for example, what Harry Kane is doing in England. We could have got Harry Kane had we been doing our work properly over the last three or four years but we're not."

Maybe the FAI could have done more. Who knows? It's easy to talk (and criticise) in hindsight, and, whilst I do think employing the likes of Kilbane could be helpful, there's only so much an association can really do to try and secure the services of a player. If a player, deep-down, ultimately has his eyes set on the bright lights of Wembley, there's probably little the FAI or someone like Kilbane can do to divert his attention. Jack Grealish was engaged with on numerous occasions and given invitations, time and respect, but he still went for the FA. There was little else we could have done besides having issued him an ultimatum to force his hand, but I don't think that would have been an ideal way to go about it.

[DannyInvincible]

Instead of every country in Europe having its own "league" that no one cares about, certain countries should get together and combine to make one league. I've planned this out for a while now. Say...Ireland, Switzerland, Czech, Austria, some others. Sweden maybe. Holland. There would be a few existing teams from each country. SO what if you have to fly to road games. There would be more revenue. We would call it "The NEXT League." It would be way more fun. Also there would be playoffs. Top 8 teams every year with a Super Bowl final rotating between countries. It would gradually improve and eventually be on the level with EPL, Serie, Liga and Bundy.
I have a presentation at the ready.

A pan-Celtic league is a suggestion that has been aired in the past. If your specific club is going to suffer as a result, naturally you won't be too keen on it. I'm not sure the bigger Scottish clubs think much of the prospect either given that the various leagues aren't on an equal footing in terms of strength at present.

[IsMiseSean]

Just saw this (https://twitter.com/RobBrennan82/status/688814178434428928) on Twitter; Australia-born River Plate (Argentina) player Gavin De Niese (https://twitter.com/gavindeniese) possesses an Irish passport, so is presumably eligible to play for us too.


This lad is on the bench for Shamrock Rovers tonight in a pre-season friendly against UCD.

[Charlie Darwin]

This lad is on the bench for Shamrock Rovers tonight in a pre-season friendly against UCD.
Played the last few minutes and looked comfortable on the ball. Had a good chance to score but ballooned it.

[Crosby87]

He is teaching local trouble youths to throw a boomerang, according to balls.ie.

[CraftyToePoke]

Bamford joins Norwich on loan - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35452629

[tetsujin1979]

Maddison has signed for Norwich and immediately loaned back to Coventry for the rest of the season: http://www.canaries.co.uk/news/article/norwich-city-sign-james-maddison-2933363.aspx

[Gather round]

O'Kane did assert that his decision to switch was purely for footballing reasons and rejected notions that it might have been for identity reasons. He was possibly trying to relieve the sort of heat and vitriol directed towards the others. If so, it's a sorry state of affairs that a young player might feel ashamed of admitting that he simply wanted to play for the team with whom he more identified culturally

Maybe we don't know what Eunan Kane really thinks about this, but as he did gave a plausible explanation* shouldn't the default be to accept it as genuine? Rather than projecting our various biases on cultural identity onto players who may simply not be interested to the same extent.

* During our last particularly bad period (three wins from 42 games, 2009-14), previous manager Beige Nige's response to established players' apathy was to round up a C team of Irish League cloggers for many friendlies. EOK was reportedly ****ed off by this given that he was playing regularly in an English professional league at the time

[tetsujin1979]

This lad is on the bench for Shamrock Rovers tonight in a pre-season friendly against UCD.


Played the last few minutes and looked comfortable on the ball. Had a good chance to score but ballooned it.

Di Niese is on trial with Limerick FC now, played against Longford last week - https://twitter.com/LimerickFCie/status/694958437806051329 - and was on the bench VS Bray at the weekend - https://twitter.com/LimerickFCie/status/696337276868128768

[Closed Account]

Sam Balls of the Brentwood Gazette has a story:
http://www.brentwoodgazette.co.uk/West-Ham-news-Hammers-captain-Mark-Noble-play/story-28865935-detail/story.html
And you won't believe what he said.....

(nothing to see here)

[SkStu]

Lol - what a pathetic piece of journalism! Especially for an institution like the Brentwood Gazette! ;)

Oh and, of course, if there is any truth to it, and there isn't, Mr Noble can get f...ed.

[seanfhear]

Lol - what a pathetic piece of journalism! Especially for an institution like the Brentwood Gazette! ;)

Oh and, of course, if there is any truth to it, and there isn't, Mr Noble can get f...ed.Is it ethical to be offering a footballer Sex in this sort of situation ? !

[Olé Olé]

Maybe we don't know what Eunan Kane really thinks about this, but as he did gave a plausible explanation* shouldn't the default be to accept it as genuine? Rather than projecting our various biases on cultural identity onto players who may simply not be interested to the same extent.

* During our last particularly bad period (three wins from 42 games, 2009-14), previous manager Beige Nige's response to established players' apathy was to round up a C team of Irish League cloggers for many friendlies. EOK was reportedly ****ed off by this given that he was playing regularly in an English professional league at the time

Is he the first player to state that he thought he'd get a better opportunity with Ireland? I know Niall McGinn stated the opposite. Shane McEleney too. I wonder have there been more.

[Charlie Darwin]

Is he the first player to state that he thought he'd get a better opportunity with Ireland? I know Niall McGinn stated the opposite. Shane McEleney too. I wonder have there been more.
Alex Bruce did too.

[Gather round]

It depends whether by "better opportunity" you mean 'greater likelihood of team qualifying' or 'more chance of getting in the team'. Almost from the start of this tournament both factors have favored us, but obviously they don't normally.

[Olé Olé]

It depends whether by "better opportunity" you mean 'greater likelihood of team qualifying' or 'more chance of getting in the team'. Almost from the start of this tournament both factors have favored us, but obviously they don't normally.

Congratulations. You qualified. So did we.

You knew I was inferring 'more of a chance of getting in the team'.

[Gather round]

Congratulations. You qualified. So did we.

You knew I was inferring 'more of a chance of getting in the team'

Thank you. Normally your point would be self-evident; my point was that since October 2014, it hasn't been.

[Wolfman]

Who cares though.

[Fixer82]

It depends whether by "better opportunity" you mean 'greater likelihood of team qualifying' or 'more chance of getting in the team'. Almost from the start of this tournament both factors have favored us, but obviously they don't normally.

I think 'better opportunity' when talking in terms of McGinn and Bruce is them getting in the team.
I think 'better opportunity' when talking about Wayne Rooney is playing for England instead of Ireland because they've a much better chance of qualifying regularly.

[ArdeeBhoy]

More GR 'doublespeak', Ignore.

[Fixer82]

More GR 'doublespeak', Ignore.

Hardly. Northies don't do that :)

[DeLorean]

Independent.ie - Mark Noble reveals how he has turned down advances from the FAI (http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/international-soccer/west-hams-mark-noble-reveals-how-he-has-turned-down-advances-from-the-fai-34534628.html)

[Lionel Ritchie]

I think he put that to bed fairly and honestly. kudos.

[Olé Olé]

I think he put that to bed fairly and honestly. kudos.

Agreed. It's always nice for a player to state whether they want to represent us or not on the basis of whether they identify with us. Kane and Noble have clearly highlighted that they identify as English and just wanted to play for them. Fair play. Someone like Steven Reid had a great article in recent months about how he identified as Irish and always sought to represent us.

You'd just wonder could Noble's mother and Kane's father have done something more to help their sons identify as Irish. The Keanes from Manchester have an old man with a lot to answer for there too!

[BonnieShels]

The headline gives the impression that he's a bit snarky.

Nice to read a straightforward response to that question.

[Murph 1]

The situation with Noble has been clear for some time, a couple of Years ago his agent felt his Irish roots may have been helpful in forcing England to give Mr Noble the nod. The important point here is we have qualified for Euro 2016 and yet no potentially eligible player such as Bambford, Redmond or Keane have come our way. Previous Tournament Qualifications have always led to a player or 2 coming our way. The FAI have to review our recruitment policy and enlist ex Internationals such as Kevin Kilbane and Steven Reid to help improve a system that not only identifies players but actually succeeds in increasing the Quality and Quantity of player available at U 21 and Senior level.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

They don't need to change the way they do anything.

Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney, Gary Cahill etc etc have swatted away enquiries from the FAI. Bamford, Grealish, M. Keane, W. Keane have promptly left underage set-ups to throw in with England once better opportunities were afforded to them.

There are more still declaring for Northern Ireland who fans are getting in a tizzy over - even though they might actually want to play for NI.

Yet more like Connor Wickham and Kyle Naughton who have shown zilch interest in declaring, yet fans still clamour for the FAI to invest more resources in trying to court them.

We will attract eligible players. We just have to be realistic about the ones we will be attracting. The Sean St Ledger's not the Gary Cahill's.

I personally think there are far more prudent things to divert attention towards - like *gasp* young players coming up in Ireland who can emulate lads like Coleman, Long, Meyler and Forrester.

[tetsujin1979]

Will Keane was never part of the Ireland setup

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Had a Dunphy moment there.

[DannyInvincible]

There are more still declaring for Northern Ireland who fans are getting in a tizzy over - even though they might actually want to play for NI.

Which players are you referring to?


Yet more like Connor Wickham and Kyle Naughton who have shown zilch interest in declaring, yet fans still clamour for the FAI to invest more resources in trying to court them.

Is anyone actually clamouring for the inclusion of Wickham and Naughton? Some people have suggested that the FAI invest in employing a sort of scout/ambassador, such as Lee Carsley (although he found himself a role with the FA since offering his services to the FAI and being turned down) or Kevin Kilbane, so as to enhance our chances of convincing undecided dual nationals generally to opt for us, but that's rather different from how you're presenting it.

[Fixer82]

Some people have suggested that the FAI invest in employing a sort of scout/ambassador, such as Lee Carsley (although he found himself a role with the FA since offering his services to the FAI and being turned down) or Kevin Kilbane, so as to enhance our chances of convincing undecided dual nationals generally to opt for us, but that's rather different from how you're presenting it.

Do we not have that? I remember McCarthy certainly had a scout going around England looking for eligible players. Though he wasn't a high profile name like Carsley or Kilbane

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Conor Washington off the top of my head.

And I think that's a complete waste of time because if they are talented enough to play for England, they will generally play for England, and if they are not, they will generally play for Ireland. And if they couldn't be arsed like Jamie O'Hara, Mark Noble, Curtis Davies or Kyle Naughton, then they couldn't be arsed and there's no point trying to drop a curtsy to them.

And Fixer, we have always had people in those roles. Though maybe we will have more success trying to convince the future Grealish's and Bamford's to stick with us if legends of the game like Steven Reid and Lee Carsley come knocking on their door.

[Murph 1]

Thanks to Danny Invicible and Fixer for coming to my aid, In a perfect world we would have a conveyor belt of the next homegrown Shane Long and Seamie Coleman tip toeing to the Senior Squad every couple of seasons, This is clearly not the case. Whether we like it or not or want to admit it or not - we have to improve our recruitment of potentially eligible players. Surely Kilbane and Steven Reid acting as Recruitement ambassadors would be a major step in the right direction.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

There is no drastic need to improve player recruitment.

Cyrus Christie, David McGoldrick and Harry Arter all showed interest in declaring for Ireland.

As did Sean St Ledger and Paul Green before them.

As have Richard Stearman and Luke Chambers currently.

We have a conveyor belt of English born players playing at each of our underage levels - most of whom drift away from the Intl set up without making any kind of impact.

I suspect you think we need to improve something to attract players of the calibre of Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Patrick Bamford, Wayne Rooney, Gary Cahill, Kyle Naughton, Curtis Davies, Mark Noble and several other high-profile players who have been approached with no success.

I'd love to know what you think we could do to improve our chances of attaining these players and convincing them they should play for Ireland and not England, because up until now they have vehemently rejected any approaches.

Even Jamie O'Hara and Jermaine Pennant have been laissez-faire about playing for Ireland and they have little hope of gaining Intl recognition with England.

I suggest you be happy with what we have got.

Whatever about their ability and motivations behind playing for us, recent recruits like Christie & McGoldrick at least have an itch to play for us.

[DannyInvincible]

Conor Washington off the top of my head.

Idle forum speculation from bored football fans isn't quite the same thing as people getting in a tizzy.


And I think that's a complete waste of time because if they are talented enough to play for England, they will generally play for England, and if they are not, they will generally play for Ireland. And if they couldn't be arsed like Jamie O'Hara, Mark Noble, Curtis Davies or Kyle Naughton, then they couldn't be arsed and there's no point trying to drop a curtsy to them.

Well, you'll never know unless you ask. Not all players are as proactive as you assume. Isn't that how Ciaran Clark was recruited? He was delighted to jump on board as soon as he was asked. In fact, some players might be reluctant to make the first move lest it wouldn't work out (which would have the effect of also compromising their status or position with their original association) or for fear they'd come across as a bit presumptuous. I personally know of at least one switching player to whom that applied for a time, which resulted in a period of impasse as our under-age management were also reluctant to communicate with the player first out of fear of upsetting the IFA.


And Fixer, we have always had people in those roles. Though maybe we will have more success trying to convince the future Grealish's and Bamford's to stick with us if legends of the game like Steven Reid and Lee Carsley come knocking on their door.

Slag off the potential impact an experienced former dual-national player like Carsley (who's been through it all before) could have in advising/encouraging a young uncertain player all you want, but the FA saw worth in giving him an ambassadorial role (same role in which the FAI saw no value). And that's with the cards already being firmly in the FA's favour anyway, in terms of clout due to their stature and the related financial benefits associated with declaring for England.


I suspect you think we need to improve something to attract players of the calibre of Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Patrick Bamford, Wayne Rooney, Gary Cahill, Kyle Naughton, Curtis Davies, Mark Noble and several other high-profile players who have been approached with no success.

I'd love to know what you think we could do to improve our chances of attaining these players and convincing them they should play for Ireland and not England, because up until now they have vehemently rejected any approaches.

He's been pretty clear already; he'd like to see the FAI employ an ambassador like Kevin Kilbane (who knows what he's talking about and is a fantastic example to lead; a consummate pro) to do the bidding and demystify the whole process for young dual-national players.


I suggest you be happy with what we have got.

Oddly defeatist thing to say and you'd never apply that rule to other aspects of the team.

[Charlie Darwin]

Actually in Clark's case he didn't even know he was allowed play for Ireland. Went and initiated the process himself when Dunne told him he was.

[Murph 1]

Think we'll have to agree to disagree on this, Everything that could be done should be done to encourage potentially eligible players to declare for us, Using high profile ex Internationals such as Kilbane would be the very least one would expect of the FAI, If a young player of dual nationality decides not to come our way- so be it. At least we could say we had given it our best shot, That is presently not the case. On another note good to see Scott Hogan of Brentford return to first team duty after a terrible run of injuries, Hogan qualifies and was called up to the U 21's in 2014

[Olé Olé]

Think we'll have to agree to disagree on this, Everything that could be done should be done to encourage potentially eligible players to declare for us, Using high profile ex Internationals such as Kilbane would be the very least one would expect of the FAI, If a young player of dual nationality decides not to come our way- so be it. At least we could say we had given it our best shot, That is presently not the case. On another note good to see Scott Hogan of Brentford return to first team duty after a terrible run of injuries, Hogan qualifies and was called up to the U 21's in 2014

A lot of potential there with Hogan. He could turn out to be a real find if he can find his form after finding his fitness.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Actually in Clark's case he didn't even know he was allowed play for Ireland. Went and initiated the process himself when Dunne told him he was.

Now you've done it. He's going to be writing a 5,000 word thesis to refute that point.


The situation with Noble has been clear for some time, a couple of Years ago his agent felt his Irish roots may have been helpful in forcing England to give Mr Noble the nod. The important point here is we have qualified for Euro 2016 and yet no potentially eligible player such as Bambford, Redmond or Keane have come our way. Previous Tournament Qualifications have always led to a player or 2 coming our way. The FAI have to review our recruitment policy and enlist ex Internationals such as Kevin Kilbane and Steven Reid to help improve a system that not only identifies players but actually succeeds in increasing the Quality and Quantity of player available at U 21 and Senior level.

I don't think anyone needs to demystify the process for Bamford or Keane. They have already played for Ireland and switched back to England. Redmond doesn't want to play for Ireland as yet.

I suggested he be happy with what we have got because Christie, McGoldrick and Arter have been proactive about playing for Ireland whereas the dozen or so other players I have mentioned in my previous posts are ambivalent about it.

Doubt financial clout or stature comes into it for most of the players concerned. Davies, O'Hara, Noble & Naughton all could have made more money and increased their clout by declaring for Ireland 6 years ago but haven't. Doubt finances were main driving force for lads like Rooney, Cahill and Bamford.

I have read lots of comments re: Washington from Ireland fans demanding why he has not been approached/integrated completely disregarding the possibility that he may want to play for NI.

[DannyInvincible]

Now you've done it. He's going to be writing a 5,000 word thesis to refute that point.

Why would I refute it? Charlie's point supports the position that it's best to go ahead and ask dual nationals rather than just assume they're not interested. Had Clark been asked earlier before Dunne mentioned it to him, maybe he'd have switched sooner. Anyway, he's just one example I plucked out of my head. Even if his specific case wasn't relevant, the general point would still stand.

[tetsujin1979]

I've no interest in reffing debates between you two again, do us all a favour and block each other

[tetsujin1979]

According to @MLSAnalyst on twitter, there's been an inquiry for New York City FC midfielder Tommy McNamara: https://twitter.com/MLSAnalyst/status/713810797185466368

Told there's been a preliminary inquiry from Ireland re: Tommy McNamara. He has a passport. #NYCvNE (https://twitter.com/hashtag/NYCvNE?src=hash)

Just scored for NYC FC against New England Revolution

[IsMiseSean]

Hogan qualifies and was called up to the U 21's in 2014

Was he? I remember talk of him being eligible but I don't recall it leading to a call up.

[RiffRaff]

Troy Deeney in talks with the Nordies. You would imagine he also qualifies for us if he does for them but from this article it doesn't look like he has any intention of playing for anyone other than England. Would be a great addition though http://www.skysports.com/watch/tv-shows/soccer-am/news/10218765/troy-deeney-hopeful-of-england-call-but-reveals-northern-ireland-contact

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

His great grandfather is from Northern Ireland.

http://www.the42.ie/troy-deeney-euro-2016-northern-ireland-2682933-Mar2016/

[DannyInvincible]

The country [IFA] have previously explored the possibility of picking Deeney, given his great grandfather hails from the country, but Fifa rules state that a player must have a parent or grandparent from the nation they wish to play for to be eligible.

However, the door is seemingly still open for the in-form Watford forward, who has scored nine goals in 29 league games for his club this season.

Hmm. Annoyingly vague, that; how could the door be "seemingly still open" for him if he doesn't have a parent or grandparent from the north?

[Wangball]

Hmm. Annoyingly vague, that; how could the door be "seemingly still open" for him if he doesn't have a parent or grandparent from the north?

Hoping not to come off too cynical but could this be a planted story intended to maybe expedite his elevation to the England squad???