Leeds United youngster Alfie McCalmont has taken to social media to shoot down claims he was close to following Mark Sykes out of the Northern Ireland set-up.
The 20-year-old, who signed a new long term deal with Leeds on Friday, was responding to a Tweet that suggested he had been on the verge of switching to the Republic of Ireland.
One Twitter handle claimed McCalmont had only stayed with the Green and White Army after previous national boss Michael O’Neill “kicked up a fuss and tied him down”.
That drew an immediate riposte from the highly rated midfielder who responded with two laughing emojis and a five word answer: “What a load of rubbish.”
McCalmont wasn’t named in Ian Baraclough’s first squad for next month’s Nations League double header against Romania and Norway, but is highly regarded by the new manager.
The Yorkshire-born midfielder, who played for Baraclough when he was U21s coach, made his senior debut in a 1-0 friendly win over Luxembourg in September.
The Leeds starlet, who signed a four year deal with the Premier League new boys last week, has yet to play a competitive fixture for Northern Ireland, meaning he isn’t tied down yet.
But the U21 and U19 star doesn’t look to be leaving the Irish Football Association anytime soon if today’s Twitter exchange is anything to go by.
Oxford United midfielder Sykes informed Baraclough at the weekend that he was switching allegiance to the Republic of Ireland.
