Shane Duffy, the talented teenage Everton centre-half, has decided that his international future lies with Giovanni Trapattoni’s Ireland rather than the North.
The Derry born defender rose to prominence with the 'Toffees' this season when making two appearances for Everton in the Europa League against BATE Borisov and AEK Athens.
Both Duffy and his family are delighted that the issue has now been resolved and he can look forward to following in the footsteps of Derry’s other senior Irish international, Darron Gibson.
"As you can imagine, myself and the rest of the family are thrilled to bits now that he has made his decision," declared Mr. Duffy.
"Shane told me it has always been his ambition to play for the Republic of Ireland. I for one can't believe that it is now done and I'm delighted."
Mr. Duffy claimed that his son's decision was based on furthering his professional career and he remained extremely grateful for the experience and education he gained as part of the N. Ireland underage international set-up.
"It's always been his childhood dream to play for the Republic," added Brian. "He was brought up through the N. Ireland ranks but as time moved on he felt he would benefit more from playing with the Republic.
"Shane holds no ill feelings whatsoever towards N. Ireland and he remains extremely grateful for the experience he gained when playing for the N. Ireland international squad at youth level."
The Football Association of Ireland have since invited the Duffy family as their guests to the forthcoming friendly international against Brazil in Arsenal's Emirates Stadium on Tuesday next, March 2nd.
Mr. Duffy and his family, including Shane, have accepted that invitation and they expect to meet representatives of the FAI including former international and Arsenal legend, Liam Brady who, it's believed has been highly influential in securing the services of the Derry lad.
No comments:
Post a Comment