Kenny adds clarity on England's approach for Tom Cannon

Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny has confirmed that England have approached Ireland's U-21 star Tom Cannon about an international switch of countries.

Cannon was born in Aintree, England, but has represented Ireland at U-19s, U-20s, and U-21s level. The Preston North End loanee qualifies for the Boys in Green through his Sligo heritage and grandparents.

Cannon had even been called up to Stephen Kenny's squad for the games against Greece and Gibraltar this month. However, rumors emerged this weekend that Cannon had been approached by the English FA to make the switch from green to white.

The Everton youngster has been in fine form for his loan club Preston, scoring eight league goals in 20 games and with this has admirers in both Ireland and England.

Speaking to the media this weekend, Ireland manager Kenny confirmed the news about Cannon's alleged switch of countries. Cannon has pulled out of Ireland's training camp because of a virus and is set to decide his international colors in due course.

"His agent is Kenny Moyes, who is David Moyes' brother, and he just said, 'Let's get this camp out of the way and we'll come and meet you and have a chat,'" said Kenny to the media.

England make approach for Irish U21s striker Tom Cannon https://t.co/WQfUXj34f2

— Gavin Cooney (@gcooney93) June 11, 2023

"He [Moyes] said, 'Obviously, England U-21s have made an approach,' and he just needed a bit of time to reflect and see what the situation was and wanted to speak to me after the camp, sit down, and have a conversation. He said that he just needed time to breathe and see what the situation was."

"It is what it is," Kenny added. "He still has a lot of improving to do, but he seems like a good lad. I actually don't know him that well because he hasn't been in our system that long. Obviously, I've had a few conversations with him. But we're happy with the strike force we have."

This comes years after both Jack Grealish and Declan Rice, who both played for Ireland, but decided to represent the country of their birth. Cannon could well be the next player on the list.

England's proposed move for Cannon will also be a big blow for Ireland's U-21 manager Jim Crawford. In March, Crawford said that the 20-year-old was "committed" to Ireland before a friendly against Iceland in Cork.

"Tom is committed to Ireland," said Crawford to the Mirror. "I could see how desperate he was to put on the green shirt in that camp last March. It was a difficult game; he did okay, but I saw his work ethic. Over the last few months, reaching out to him, he's been great and looking forward to the campaign ahead."