U19 BOSS HOPEFUL ON RICE ANSWER

TOM MOHAN, the Ireland U19 manager, remains ‘hopeful’ Declan Rice might wear the green jersey again. Mohan yesterday hailed ‘a brilliant young fella, with a great attitude, who was totally committed to us [Ireland],’ and admitted the West Ham player’s reluctance to commit to the Republic of Ireland was another example of how ‘football throws up shocks.’ With Rice on Gareth Southgate’s wanted list, Mohan revealed that ‘Declan could have moved to England at various stages when he was younger. The FA were always looking at Declan.’ On Rice’s international impasse, he said: ‘It is what it is, but he’s gone nowhere yet. I’d still be hopeful.’ Mohan has an idea what Martin O’Neill is going through with Rice after Ryan Johansson, the Bayern Munich teenager, asked not to be considered for the Ireland U19s. Luxembourg-born Johansson, 17, played for the German giants’ first team on their preseason tour of the US, and was pencilled in by Mohan for the Euro qualifiers in Longford later this month, which would have tied him to Ireland. ‘Ryan has decided at the moment to stay with Luxembourg, while Sweden are also looking for him,’ explained Mohan. ‘He’s eligible to play for us, but he’s not closing the door. It’s such a big decision and he’s keeping his options open.’ As a plus, Tom Gaston, the French-born centre-half with Bordeaux, is available for the U19 qualifiers after impressing against the Welsh. Ryan Nolan, the 19-year-old Inter Milan defender from Clare who grew up in Spain, is ‘fully committed to playing for us,’ insisted Mohan. As under-age players with multi-eligibility consider what road to take, the influence of agents is becoming more persuasive. ‘If I was advising any young player going for an agent, I’d say make sure they’ve football knowledge and they care about the players. That’s the key,’ said Mohan.