Martin O'Neill has confirmed that Declan Rice has not yet committed to representing Ireland at senior level having been left out of the squad for the upcoming games with Wales and Poland.
He says the defender is 'still deliberating' about his international future. O'Neill added that England have talked to the defender and he 'wants a bit of time to think about it.'
O'Neill informed reporters that the London-born defender, who's grandparents hail from Cork is “still deliberating” over his international future amid interest from the English FA.
“England have obviously spoken to him,” added O’Neill. The 19-year-old has been capped three times but having not yet played in a competitive game he can switch allegiances.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I’d rather be ranked 150th in the world and never qualify again than have someone who has played, but needs time to THINK whether they should play for us again. Well done to MON for transparency. <a href="https://t.co/6oXlwXEpaP">https://t.co/6oXlwXEpaP</a></p>— Kevin Kilbane (@kdkilbane77) <a href="https://twitter.com/kdkilbane77/status/1034049483678642177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The news that Rice is considering his options will come as a shock as the teenager has previously intimated that his mind was made up:
"Nothing. I've come away, played in the game and loved every minute of it.
"I've loved being around the team and at the moment I'm fully focused on playing with Ireland."
Republic of Ireland Provisional Squad
Goalkeepers: Colin Doyle (Hearts), Sean McDermott (Kristiansund BK), Kieran O'Hara (Macclesfield Town*), Darren Randolph (Middlesbrough)
Defenders: Seamus Coleman (Everton), Cyrus Christie (Fulham), Matt Doherty (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Shane Duffy (Brighton & Hove Albion), Richard Keogh (Derby County), Ciaran Clark (Newcastle United), Kevin Long, Stephen Ward (Burnley), John Egan, Enda Stevens (Sheffield United), Darragh Lenihan (Blackburn Rovers), Greg Cunningham (Cardiff City)
Midfielders: Alan Judge (Brentford), Jeff Hendrick (Burnley), Conor Hourihane (Aston Villa), Alan Browne (Preston North End), Shaun Williams (Millwall), David Meyler (Reading), Harry Arter (Cardiff City*), Daryl Horgan (Hibernian), Callum O'Dowda (Bristol City), James McClean (Stoke City)
Forwards: Jonathan Walters (Burnley), Shane Long (Southampton), Graham Burke, Callum Robinson (Preston North End), Aiden O'Brien (Millwall)
*Indicates player is on loan
