Villa's Jack Grealish will wait for Ireland call

Republic of Ireland boss Martin O'Neill has resisted the temptation to include Jack Grealish in his provisional squad.

The Republic are preparing for the upcoming friendly international with the United States and the European Championship qualifier with Scotland.

Villa's Grealish is in the middle of an international tug-of-war with England Under-21 boss Gareth Southgate also keen on him.

O'Neill said: "It's a point that I want to clear a few things up. I had a conversation with his father some time ago. Naturally he was breaking into the Aston Villa side at the time.

"I suggested to his father that he might want to get involved with Oman game and still not wanting to commit myself.

"The father sent me a message to say he would concentrate on the U21s at that time. I've left it since then. And there's been no conversation since then."

But O'Neill was quick to play down the hype that has surrounded Grealish, stating that while there is no doubt he has the ability, he still has a lot to do.

He said: "It's like everything else. Some new kid in town comes in with eligibility for Ireland.

"There's no doubt from the bits I've seen of Jack, he's got a lot of talent and he looks a lot stronger than he did in the first time I saw him in a match, a game for Notts County against Brentford when he was on loan.

"Paul Lambert has said he's got a lot of talent, lots to do, and sometimes there's pressure put on a new lad to solve all problems that might be there at club level.

"It might not necessarily be the answer for a player on a long term basis. He's definitely got talent and he's worth considering and talking about."

England remain keen to get the Villa youngster on board with Southgate very vocal about Grealish recently and O'Neill insists he will not force the player into making any decision.

He said: "Of course, I'd like to have, as I did have conversations with the player and his father.

"But I'm not really there to go and turn around and force someone into a decision they may not fancy somewhere down the line.

"I'd rather it came from those people and that's the best way for it to be. I'm not going to force it. It would be nice to hear someone come up and say this is what I want to do."