Declan Rice and Jack Grealish scored England’s goals in their 2-0 win against Ireland in the Nations League on Saturday, after both represented Ireland at international level before switching their allegiances to England.
Now Keane has spoken about his own experiences playing alongside English-born players in Ireland line-ups, as he suggested commitment to the cause was the priority.
“It was strange, particularly when you are playing for the under-21s and then as you get a bit older, that lads are coming over from London and playing for Ireland,” Keane told The Overlap.
“Listen, that was the rules. I think it’s important when a player commits to a country like Ireland, particularly as they get a bit older, that they are committed.
“I played with a lot of lads who were born in England like Jason McAteer, Andy Townsend, John Aldridge and all these boys were committed to playing for Ireland, which is fine.”
Keane was asked whether he could ever have considered switching his international team, as Rice and Grealish did and he offered a swift response.
We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity.
“No, I can’t see it,” he added. “Listen, every situation is different and to be fair to Jack and Declan, they were born and reared in England.
“I think, deep down, Declan and Jack were always going to play for England when they got the chance and that’s fine.”
Aldridge gave his own views on the Rice and Grealish defection to England in his Sunday World column last weekend, as he insisted changing international teams should not be permitted.
“Once you get that first Ireland cap and kiss that badge, as Rice did, you can’t turn around and play for England a few months later,” said Aldridge.
“Grealish is a little different as he only played at underage level for Ireland, but I still feel you should not be allowed to switch international teams.
“Seeing those two score for England reminded us of what might have been as Ireland could have built their team around them for the last few years.”