Sunderland defender weighing up key decision after international approaches

DENNIS Cirkin is keeping his international options open but insists his primary focus is Sunderland and building on his superb start to the Championship season.

Sunderland's left-back is eligible to represent three different nations, having been born in Dublin to parents of Latvian descent, but moving to London when he was only three.

He made his England representative debut at Under-16s level, and has played with every England age-group team through to the Under-20s.

But Ireland continue to monitor Cirkin's situation. Former manager Stephen Kenny previously admitted he'd approached Sunderland and Cirkin about playing for Ireland, while former Black Cats defender John O'Shea, who is now part of Ireland boss's Heimir Hallgrimsson's coaching staff, was recently spotted watching the full-back.

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Latvia would also love to have Cirkin commit to playing for them, with former boss Dainis Kazakevics revealing last year there'd been "active communication" with the 22-year-old.

He said: "We have presented our vision to him remotely."

Playing his way into the England senior set-up is clearly a tougher challenge, but Cirkin has shown his class in the early stages of the season after putting last year's injury misery behind him.

His form has turned heads this season, with Leeds United linked, and Cirkin is one of several Sunderland youngsters who look likely to go on and play Premier League football in the future.

Cirkin is weighing up his international options but insists it's not at the forefront of his thinking right now.

He said: "I've got a few nationalities but I think, at the moment, especially because of last season, where I was basically injured for the whole season, my main focus is staying fit, being consistent, making that spot mine and thriving at club level first before I start to look into any pathways.

"But for sure, I'm always thinking about it."

Cirkin only made five Championship starts last term because of a hamstring injury that required surgery in January, but he's played every minute in the league so far this season.

He'll start for Sunderland when Championship action resumes at Millwall this Saturday, but Regis Le Bris has a decision to make on the other side of his defence, with Trai Hume out suspended.

Le Bris has previously hinted he could move Luke O'Nien from centre-half to right-back, which would mean Dan Ballard returning to the team alongside Chris Mepham in the heart of the defence. Aji Alese is also expected to be available after resuming training after his injury.