Jack Grealish was subjected to vile abuse on social media after declining the opportunity to play for Republic of Ireland to concentrate on maintaining his Aston Villa form.

Manager Martin O’Neill decided to omit Grealish from his squad at the last minute after a phone conversation with the player’s father, Sportsmail can reveal.

O’Neill had planned to name Grealish in his squad to face England in a friendly on June 7 and Scotland in a Euro 2016 qualifier six days later, but was informed less than an hour before the scheduled 12pm announcement on Tuesday that the 19-year-old wished to focus on his club.

Aston Villa youngster Jack Grealish has been sensational since Tim Sherwood brought him in to the side

Republic of Ireland boss Martin O'Neill admits he intended to call-up Villa sensation Grealish

Villa are still not assured of their Premier League safety and have an FA Cup final against Arsenal on May 30.

Grealish, who can play for England or Ireland, has consistently said a decision on his international allegiance would be made at the start of next season and his dad Kevin reiterated this stance when O’Neill placed a late check call.

O’Neill then felt compelled to leave out the Villa starlet, who has risen to prominence in recent weeks with a series of accomplished displays.

The press conference was delayed due to the 11th-hour change and O’Neill admitted he was disappointed, adding: ‘I think Jack just didn’t want to make his mind up at this stage. He wanted to complete the season at Aston Villa.’

The 19-year-old set up Tom Cleverley to score the winning goal against West Ham on Saturday

That prompted a number of Twitter users to send Grealish vicious messages.

‘F*** off you British c***,’ said ‏@fernando_shane. ‘f*** you ye English p****,’ wrote @SeanYeah1. @DickensLewis posted: ‘I EXPECT YOU AT AWAY DAYS SINGING F*** THE IRA’.

Grealish was born and raised in Birmingham to English parents but can play for Ireland through three of his four grandparents. He has represented Ireland at youth levels and most recently in an Under-21 game in Germany last September, before opting to take a year out to win a place in Villa’s team.

Alex Song was brought on by West Ham United last Saturday to stifle the qualities of the youngster

England Under-21 manager Gareth Southgate made his interest in Grealish clear that same month and Roy Hodgson is aware of his impact, most notably in the FA Cup semi-final win over Liverpool at Wembley. Grealish was also named man-of-the-match in Villa’s victory against West Ham United last Saturday.

O’Neill’s desire to call up Grealish came as a surprise having previously claimed the match against Scotland would be ‘too big’ for the youngster to handle. He admitted on Tuesday Grealish’s progression since then had changed his mind.