Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary has reportedly offered the family of Jack Grealish free flights if the youngster opts to play for Ireland.

Aston Villa’s Grealish is one of the hottest prospects in English football right now and despite representing Ireland since he was 14, England are in pursuit of his services and the talented midfielder has put his international decision on hold for now.

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But cheeky Ryanair boss O’Leary has launched an unusual bid to try and sway Grealish towards the land of his father.

According to reputable journalist John Fallon in Irish Daily Star, O’Leary has offered free flights for the whole Grealish clan for Jack’s senior debut with Ireland should it happen.

O’Leary made the offer to Grealish’s father and agent, Kevin, when the pair met during Aston Villa’s 3-0 defeat to Chelsea recently.

Ireland boss Martin O’Neill is keen to get Grealish on board while assistant Roy Keane is keeping very close tabs on him at Aston Villa.

“He's a really good player and I enjoy working with him,” said Keane.

"We'd love to have him on board. And we know we haven't got a massive group of players to pick from, so if he comes on board it'll be absolutely fantastic because I think he's got a chance of being a really good player."

For now though, Grealish is trying to break into Ason Villa’s first team squad.

"Between appearing for Villa in the Premier League and the international situation, things have just happened very quickly for me in the past month," explained the teen recently.

"My contract at Villa runs out at the end of the season, so my concentration is on playing for the club and getting the negotiations on a new deal sorted out.

"Martin O'Neill appreciates from my meeting with him that I need to put my club future first before thinking about the international situation.

"My father and I wouldn't have liked to go to that meeting and hear Martin say, 'Come on and play for Ireland'. In fairness, he didn't put me under pressure to make a decision.

"He sat me down, treated me like a man and talked through everything.

"It wasn't just about football but growing up as a footballer and where my grandparents are from in Ireland.

"That's what I wanted to hear from Martin because it is a big decision to make and one I want to take my time over."

Online Editors