A BIZARRE bathroom accident caused Jack Grealish’s tug-of-war between England and Ireland.
Like Three Lions’ star Declan Rice, the Aston Villa ace was abused for committing his future to England in 2015 — after winning caps at youth and Under-21 level for the Republic.
Jack Grealish said the incident happened when he had been training with England but he also played for Ireland at youth level
Yet Grealish revealed it could all have been sorted out sooner — but for a freak accident while with England.
He revealed: “When I was young, I had trials for England. I think I was 15.
“I got there and I was rooming with Diego Poyet, Gus Poyet’s son.
“I woke up in the middle of the night.
“I don’t know what it was, but I somehow collapsed in the bathroom and hit my head on the sink.
‘PLEASE LET ME STAY’
“Diego woke up and found me.
“I had to go and get checked out by the doctors.
“The next morning I was completely fine, and I was like, ‘Please let me stay, let me stay’.
“But they said, ‘No, you need to go home. You can come to the next camp’.
“During that time I had trials for Ireland.
“When you’re a kid it’s not really England or Ireland, you just want to play where you’re enjoying your football and where you’re happy.
“During that time, I went to Ireland and I loved it. I felt so wanted there.
“It wasn’t until I was 19 that England started sniffing around again.”
Diego Poyet, left, spent time at MK DonsCredit: Action Images – Reuters
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk