Morrison visa for Ireland?

It has emerged today that Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison is eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland.

The 20-year-old, London-born striker has a grandmother, Mary Morrison, from Garristown, North County Dublin, and therefore would be eligible to play for the Irish national side.

The Palace player has visited Ireland on a number of occasions and has strong links with his family over here. Those close ties could prove to be a deciding factor for him if he was officially approached by the FAI.

Morrison is in excellent form for his club, and he has been the spotlight for some weeks now. He has scored 13 goals since his promotion to the first team from the reserves last season and, most recently, scored the second goal for Palace in their shock 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the first leg of the Worthington Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

With Niall Quinn's career in its twilight, the Irish management is searching for the man who will replace him and likely become Robbie Keane's future striking partner. A FAI spokesman today confirmed the body's interest in Morrison to ireland.com, stating: "They [the management] obviously have been keeping an eye on him, but I'm not aware how far the moves have progressed."

Morrison himself may welcome a declaration for Ireland, considering the plethora of top-class strikers vying for an spot in the England team. Only a move to the Premiership would secure a realistic chance for him to make Sven Goran-Eriksson's squad - and even then it is an area where England are not short of options.