Before we start, let's just say there'll be absolutely no schadenfreude on show here. Jack Grealish made his decision and we genuinely wish him well for the future. He had a tough call to make and he made it, we've all moved on. Having said that however, there are some interesting parallels to be drawn after Grealish was today handed his first call-up to an England side since his decision to declare for the country of his birth.
On the day that Martin O'Neill named his penultimate squad before Euro 2016, Grealish has been named by Gareth Southgate in the England u21 squad that will travel to France for the internationally renowned Toulon Tournament.
The invitational tournament is not held in conjunction with UEFA or any overarching football body. Despite that however, it attracts some of the world's best young players and England are certainly treating it with respect this year with the likes of Calum Chambers and Nathaniel Chalobah included in a very impressive squad.
📝 Here's the 20-man list of players who will represent us at @TournoiToulon, which kicks off next week. #YoungLions pic.twitter.com/XqFX2bUwMx
— England (@England) May 12, 2016
It's the inclusion of Grealish however, that will no doubt receive the most attention following his decision last September to switch his international allegiance to England. After an extremely impressive end to the 2014/15 season with Aston Villa, it was thought that Grealish could be pushing for senior international honours when he made the decision to forego Martin O'Neill's advancements.
Disciplinary problems, injury and the fact that Aston Villa were nothing short of diabolical this season have meant that Grealish has completely slipped off Roy Hodgson's radar and while there's little point in engaging in a game of 'what if', it's difficult not to imagine that if Grealish had decided to accept a senior Ireland call-up, he'd more than likely be getting ready for a rather different tournament in France this summer.
