Stephen Kenny, the manager of the Republic of Ireland national team, has confirmed that Everton striker Tom Cannon is currently considering his international future following an approach from England to join their Under-21s squad, writes the Goodison News.
Journalist Alan Nixon, in a report on 11 June, stated that discussions are underway between the Football Association (FA) and the 20-year-old player, who was born in Liverpool but is eligible to represent the Republic of Ireland.
Cannon made an impact by scoring on his debut for the Republic of Ireland Under-21 team in March and was subsequently called up to train with the senior squad in Bristol last week, although he was unable to participate due to tonsillitis. Kenny addressed the approach from England, as reported by the Independent, stating the importance of honesty regarding such matters. He mentioned having come across the story in an English publication.
“Tom hasn’t said anything to me about that. Now obviously, he had tonsillitis and pulled out of the camp – and he had tonsillitis to be honest with you – and it sort of made it difficult selecting him (for the seniors) because he hadn’t been doing training, he hadn’t been doing the programmes that we had set.
“He has a good attitude and is a good lad, but I have spoken to his agent subsequently before the U-21 squad was selected.
“His agent is Kenny Moyes, and he just said, ‘Let’s get this camp out of the way and we’ll come and meet you and have a chat’. He said, ‘Obviously England U-21 have made an approach,’ and he just needed a bit of time to reflect and see what the situation was and wanted to speak to me after the camp, sit down and have a conversation.”