West Ham's Mark Noble ready to declare for Ireland - reports
Mark Noble opened the scoring in West Ham's win over Hull and has called on the club's fans to get behind the team
Hammers midfielder Mark Noble could be about to throw his weight behind Ireland's qualifying campaign for Euro 2016 amid the news that he may be about to declare for Martin O'Neill's side.
The 27-year-old, who qualifies through his Cork grandparents, has grown impatient waiting for an England call-up and according to reports today in the Irish Daily Mail and is ready to become a Republic of Ireland player.
Noble, who captained the England under-21s at the 2009 European Championships, was omitted from Roy Hodgson's England squad which included uncapped players like Fabian Delph and Jack Colback and is now ready to accept an offer from Martin O'Neill to join the Irish setup.
If Noble availed of a fast-track passport he could become eligible for Ireland's clash with world champions Germany in Gelsenkirchen in October.
Aston Villa's Jack Grealish has yet to make up his mind on whether or not he will declare for Ireland.
The Birmingham-born 18-year-old is still eligible to play for England and is considering his options.
Ireland legend Roy Keane is Lambert's assistant at Villa Park and the former Manchester United midfielder is expected to try to persuade Grealish to stay with the national team.
There has been no confirmation of reports that Shay Given will end his two-year international absence.
Here is some reaction to the reports on twitter:
