England Reportedly Keen To Persuade Irish Prospect To Switch Allegiance

England are reportedly interested in persuading Celtic’s Irish U19 international Armstrong Okoflex to switch international allegiances.

Okoflex was born in Dublin and is an Irish underage international most recently featuring in three games for Tom Mohan’s U19s but he has also represented England at U16 and U17 level.

According to a report in The Telegraph, England are keen on persuading the 17-year-old Celtic prospect to choose the Three Lions as his international side.

Okoflex joined the Scottish Champions in September 2018 after turning down an offer to stay at Arsenal and is widely considered to be a very talented young attacking player who can operate anywhere across the front three.

The 17-year-old has yet to make his senior debut for Celtic but has been a staple of the underage and reserve sides while also training with the first team on occasion this season.

The report also outlines that a number of English clubs are tracking his progress and could be interested in signing him should the opportunity arise.

Okoflex was reportedly also contacted by Nigeria about representing them at international level earlier this year, according to a report from Balls.ie, but he has thus far not accepted the offer.

The 17-year-old’s international future is by no means set in stone, but Irish fans will be forgiven for thinking back to the situations surrounding both Declan Rice and Jack Grealish who represented Ireland at underage level before a switch to the English senior side.

In an interview with the Irish Times in 2017, Okoflex outlined that he felt a stronger connection with Ireland, but it will be interesting to see which nation he ends up representing at international level.

“Ireland is where I’m from but England is financially better and the grounds are amazing. I enjoy playing with both but obviously I’m Irish so I feel the connection with them.”