Mick McCarthy wants to hold talks with Leeds United forward Patrick Bamford over potentially representing the Republic of Ireland international side, according to the Irish Independent.
The newspaper claims that the 25-year-old is eligible to represent Ireland due to a maternal grandparent, even though he played for the England youth sides at four different levels.
Bamford scored his first Championship goal of the season in the 1-0 win against Bolton on Saturday after returning to action following a three-month spell on the sidelines with a knee injury.
OPINION
Bamford is a good Championship striker so it is unlikely that he will ever earn a call-up to the England senior side, so if he wants to pursue an international career then he should definitely have a word with McCarthy and consider playing for Ireland. It might not be good news for Leeds though, especially this season, because potentially switching international allegiance could be a bit of a distraction for Bamford and it will also give him some extra games to play in if he takes McCarthy up on his potential offer. Bamford has hardly played this season due to injury but he proved with his match-winning goal last week that he is vitally important to the club’s promotion hopes. According to Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Phil Hay, the ex-Chelsea striker is the highest-earning player at Elland Road, so Leeds do not want their top earner sidelined with injury more often than not. If he plays for Ireland at any point in the second-half of the season he is increasing the risk of picking up an injury, and Marcelo Bielsa does not want that.