Eoin Doyle's loan departure for Portsmouth reduced Preston North End's Irish contingent to a meagre five, with Daryl Horgan, Andy Boyle, Aiden McGeady, Alan Browne and Greg Cunningham all plying their trade at the Lancashire club.
For Irish fans, Preston are like the new Reading, and even Séamus Coleman has admitted that he keeps an eye on their results on Livescore in order to keep up to date on the form of prospective Irish teammates.
But it turns out the five Preston Irishmen may at some stage in the future become six (or seven should Doyle remain at the club). As reported by UK-based Irish football and 'granny rule' expert Rob Brennan of the Kilburn Times, the FAI have confirmed that Preston striker Callum Robinson is eligible to play for Ireland.
The 22-year-old former Aston Villa forward has scored 9 goals for Preston this season, and considering the current shortage of strikers in the Ireland setup, it seems likely Martin O'Neill will be asked about Robinson when he names his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
It may be somewhat of a shot in the dark, as Robinson represented England as a youth up to under-20s.
It's currently unclear as to whether he's keen on donning the green of Ireland or wishes to hold out for a potential England call-up down the line. A quick Twitter search would indicate that Robinson certainly keeps up to date with the Irish national team, but then, of course...
Good luck to my bro tonight for Ireland @JackGrealish1 !! Go do your thing bro 👏⚽️
— Callum Robinson (@CallumRobinson7) September 5, 2014
It's still an intriguing development, and one we hope does not transpire to become a 'saga'.
