Everton midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has denied claims he is switching his international allegiance from England to the Republic of Ireland
Everton midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has long been courted by the Republic of Ireland after remaining uncapped by England
Everton midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has long been courted by the Republic of Ireland after remaining uncapped by England
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Everton’s Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has quashed claims he is switching his international allegiance from England to the Republic of Ireland and reiterrated his ambition to be picked by his country of birth.
An account on X (formerly Twitter) purporting to be an Irish ‘freelance journalist, Keith Jones’ published a tweet on May 23 that has been viewed over 653,000 times, claiming: “Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has informed Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson of his desire to pledge his allegiance to Ireland after missing out on England’s World Cup squad. Expects to be in squad for September’s Nations League games once passport issues are sorted.”
However, Dewsbury-Hall has now taken to the same platform to inform his 95,000 followers that the statement is misinformation. The Blues midfielder replied: “?? Just not true. Massive respect to Ireland as I’ve previously stated, but I’m English and England is always the dream.”
Dewsbury-Hall joined Everton from Chelsea for £25million last August and was one of the outstanding performers for David Moyes’ team in their historic first season at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Despite suffering a hamstring injury on his return to Stamford Bridge in December, he made 31 appearances for Everton and scored eight goals, a career high total for him in the Premier League but he still missed out on a call-up by Thomas Tuchel, either during the season or for this summer’s World Cup finals.
As stated in an ECHO interview with Joe Thomas in October, that form has led to renewed calls for the Irish FA to tempt him into making himself available for Hallgrimsson’s team but those efforts are not new. Dewsbury-Hall hails from the East Midlands and was born in Nottingham and grew up in Leicestershire but is eligible to play international football alongside Seamus Coleman and Jake O’Brien through his grandparents and the Irish FA has courted him for years.
He said: “It’s a hard one to answer, I respect Ireland and I respect the Irish people but I’m English. To play for England, for me, would be the biggest achievement of my career.
“I think it would be wrong of me to keep letting things drag on when I’ve got a clear goal in my head… That’s nothing against Ireland or anything, they’re unbelievable people. But it would be the proudest moment of my life if I played for England.”
Dewsbury-Hall acknowledged it would be a challenge to break into Thomas Tuchel’s plans but believes his dream is achievable and, crucially, in his own hands.
He explained: “I have always had to work, work, work, work. That’s instilled in me, I know I’m not going to get anything given to me, I have to earn it.
“I almost like the fact that it's up to me. If I play well enough then I’ll do it, but if I don’t then I’m content because it’s my fault, it’s no-one else’s.
“[My mindset] is probably just from the fact that I’ve always had to work for everything. Whatever I’ve had I feel like I’ve earned.
“Nothing is given to me, which I’m quite proud of. Again, if I ever play for England it’s because I’ve earned it and I’ve worked hard and I’ve played well enough where I get the opportunity. If I don’t, then fair enough.”