Richard Stearman could become Wolves' latest international

Richard Stearman could become Wolves' latest full international after the Football Association of Ireland today confirmed it has contacted him.

Despite being born in Wolverhampton and playing for various England age-group sides up to and including the Under-21s, Stearman qualifies to play for the Emerald Isle because he has an Irish grandparent on his mother's side.

Irish sources say Wolves striker Kevin Doyle initiated the contact with the FAI, who followed that up with a call to Stearman.

Doyle confirmed Stearman's 'Irishness' in a report last week. Answering a question about the Irish credentials of Wolves' on-loan Tottenham midfielder Jamie O'Hara - who also qualifies to play - Doyle said: "I'd like to see him in a green shirt.

"Richard Stearman is another one. He's trying to get a passport because his grandmother is Irish."

Several factors depend on whether Stearman could be fast-tracked into being selected for his adopted country.

First he must prove himself to manager Giovanni Trapattoni, and the FAI will send chief scout Don Givens to Wolves' next two games, at Villa and Newcastle, to assess him.

If Stearman impresses, the next process would be for the 23-year-old to obtain an Irish passport, which would take about a month to process.

At the same time, the player has to present his grandparent's birth certificate to be ratified by the FAI to prove his qualification.

But even then, he wouldn't be able to play for Ireland as he has represented England at Under-21 competitively, most notably in the 2009 European Under-21 Championships final, when England were beaten 4-0 by Germany.

Stearman therefore would have to change his citizenship through FIFA, which could take three months.

Villa's Ciaran Clark didn't have to go through the same red tape as he had only played for England Under-20s, which isn't regarded as 'competitive'.

Wolves already boast four current Ireland internationals — Doyle, Kevin Foley, Stephen Hunt and Andy Keogh — while Stephen Ward was called up last May, only to miss out with injury.