• International clearance will not be granted for four to six weeks • Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood urges player to perform at club level

Jack Grealish has been urged by his manager to concentrate on his performances for Aston Villa after learning he will have to wait at least a month for his England debut. After months of speculation, Grealish committed his international career to England on Monday.

Jack Grealish opts to play for England instead of Republic of Ireland Read more

Despite being born in Solihull, Grealish opted to play for the Republic of Ireland at youth level. He was eligible to play for Ireland through his grandparents. But the 20-year-old then switched his allegiance back to England after the manager Roy Hodgson made it clear he was interested in calling the player up for the senior side earlier this year.

Explaining his decision, Grealish said: “It was not an easy decision to make as Ireland has a special place to me through my family. However, I have decided to represent the country of my birth.”

However, Grealish will not be selected for England’s upcoming Euro 2016 qualifiers against Estonia and Lithuania next month. It is understood that the Football Association expects Grealish’s international clearance will not be granted for four to six weeks.

That means he will not be included in the squad for the next two qualifiers – which is due to be named on Thursday – but could feature in the friendlies against Spain and France in November.

But Tim Sherwood, Grealish’s manager at Aston Villa, wants to see the young player continue to improve in the Premier League, insisting if he does that then the England call-up will look after itself.

Speaking to AVTV, Sherwood said: “It’s good news for England. Hopefully Jack has cleared his mind now. We’re looking for some improved performances from him now on the pitch so those international managers are very excited and choose to pick him.

“He’s got a lot of competition there so he needs to make sure that he is playing well for Aston Villa – and we’re sure he will.

“He has loads of potential – and that’s what it is at the moment. He needs to start fulfilling that potential. He needs to improve every season that goes by.

“That will mean he might get picked by England and becomes an international but I think this championship might be a little bit too soon for him. He’s got a long way to go.

“We know what talent Jack possesses. But he has to show it on a regular basis. Consistency is everything in this game.”