Mark Noble will give serious consideration to representing the Republic of Ireland at international level after being overlooked by England manager Roy Hodgson.

It has emerged that the West Ham United midfielder qualifies for Ireland by virtue of his paternal grandparents and has been pursued by manager Martin O’Neill since he took over last November.

Assistant Roy Keane is believed to have scouted Noble, 27, and O’Neill wants to bring him into the Irish set-up to add quality to his midfield options for the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign.

VIDEO Scroll down to watch Sportsmail's exclusive interview with West Ham's Mark Noble

Making the move: Mark Noble is ready to commit his international future to Ireland

Coup: Noble has played an important role for West Ham over the last few seasons

Noble was named West Ham’s player of the year last season and it had been expected he might be included in Hodgson’s latest squad for the friendly with Norway and qualifier against Switzerland.

He was on the England radar but instead Jack Colback and Fabian Delph got the nod, leaving Noble thinking about accepting O’Neill’s offer. A passport would need to be sorted but that hurdle is not envisaged to present any problems.

Noble, born in Canning Town, London, represented England at youth levels and captained the Under-21 side that made the final of the 2009 European Championships.

Switching sides: Noble won 20 caps for England U21s - but looks set to play for Ireland

Decision time: Noble played for the England U21 with Gabriel Agbonlahor, Adam Johnson and James Milner

Getting his man: Martin O'Neill hopes convince Noble to play for Ireland

That 4-0 defeat five years ago to a Germany side that included six future World Cup winners was Noble’s last in an England shirt. In all he won 20 caps, scoring three goals for the Under-21s.

Since then he has established himself as one of West Ham’s most important players and is this year celebrating a decade of first-team football at Upton Park. He has scored 33 goals in 287 appearances for the club.

Noble, who attracted interest from Sunderland and Newcastle this summer, was thought to have been looked at by O’Neill’s predecessor Giovanni Trapattoni and would provide a strong partner for James McCarthy in central midfield were he pledge allegiance to Ireland.