While Heimir Hallgrimsson’s plan to get Harvey Vale on board might have been a year in the making, the QPR midfielder had been considering a switch from England to the Republic of Ireland for a lot longer.
The 22-year-old is the brand new face within the Irish senior squad that has landed in Prague for Thursday’s World Cup play-off semi-final against Czechia.
Indeed, it was a close-run thing whether the Chelsea youth graduate would get the stamp of approval from FIFA in time.
Ultimately, the green light arrived the week before last, allowing the Ireland manager to call him into his 25-man squad.
The journey from England’s ranks to the Boys in Green “hasn’t just been a flick of the switch”, according to…