Still if they bring them over a long with maybe two other players they are looking at they will want to see how they shape up against each other and make their decision from there. If Powell and Keegan don't want to go over on a trial then they can turn it down.
I have though always felt that Irish lads are only brought over to make up the numbers. An Irish player has to really stand out to have any chance. If it comes down to an Irish or an English player of similar talent they are always going to choose the English player.
Just look at Footballs Next Star that was on Sky One. It was Italian Coaches looking at the players and 3 Irish lads managed to get into the top 10 out of the whole of Ireland and the UK. I feel this was down to the Italians not having a bias on picking English lads and went purely on talent.