Michael O'Neill has included Ceadach O'Neill from Arsenal in his squad for the Nations League after the teenager was approached by the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill expressed that what troubles him the most about the rules on international eligibility is the pressure it places on young players to make an irreversible decision.

Players born in Northern Ireland can also represent the Republic of Ireland, but according to FIFA regulations, an application to transfer international allegiance can only be made once. The spotlight has recently been on Arsenal's Ceadach O'Neill, who has earned two senior caps for Northern Ireland and was selected for a Nations League quadruple-header, despite interest from the Republic of Ireland.

Currently, if the player wishes to play for the Republic of Ireland at any level, he would need to undergo a FIFA transfer of allegiance, and if he participates in the upcoming Nations League matches, he would have to wait until he turns 21 to do so. Should he earn four caps, he would not be able to transfer allegiance thereafter.

"My focus is on the player, and I have a duty of care to the player as his international manager, as we have as an association as well," said Michael O'Neill. "He's been in our pathway since he's been a young boy. He's been part of our academy. He's obviously had an approach from another association, which happens.

"The thing that upsets me the most in this is that putting a young player in a position to make an international transfer before he's been a professional for even two years is, I think, not the right thing. It's not something that any association should be doing."

O'Neill and Graham retain their places in the Northern Ireland squad. Arsenal holds 'big hopes' for O'Neill, according to Arteta.

Under the Good Friday Agreement—the 1998 peace accord that followed the conflict known as The Troubles—those born in Northern Ireland can hold both British and Irish passports. A Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling in 2010 allows players born anywhere on the island of Ireland to represent the Republic of Ireland, regardless of whether they meet any other eligibility criteria.

Conversely, players born in the Republic of Ireland cannot represent Northern Ireland unless they qualify through other means. "We exploit eligibility, the same as every other country does, down to the grandparent rule, but this is a rule which is obviously unique between ourselves and the FAI [Football Association of Ireland]," said O'Neill.

"I think everyone recognises it's not particularly fair, but as I say, our focus is to make sure our pathway for our young players is as good as possible and that's a pathway for boys from any part of the community."

In May, FAI director of football John Martin stated that the organization should at "the bare minimum" be reaching out to eligible players. "We know there are kids out there who want to play for Ireland who haven't been approached in the past," Martin remarked. "That's not right. It's making sure we have a presence and we understand all the players available to us, and that they are being monitored and tracked."

When asked if the discussion regarding young players in or around his squad bothers him, O'Neill stated: "It would have been in the past, it's not tiresome now. We have people who comment on this and talk about nationality and identity related to being born in Northern Ireland and growing up there. But I think what we're missing now is that we're putting young players in a situation where they have to make a decision that is irreversible."

Ceadach O'Neill appeared for the Arsenal senior team during pre-season. During O'Neill's tenure as manager, Tottenham Hotspur's Jamie Donley and Gillingham's Ronan Hale have made international transfers to Northern Ireland from England and the Republic of Ireland, respectively.

"We've done two international transfers in my time. Jamie Donley, who is now a senior international, and Ronan Hale, who was 25 at the time when we asked him to make that decision," O'Neill added. "I think there's a point in a player's career where you've just got to let him play and develop, enjoy his football without creating a situation like this. We haven't created this situation. Ceadach O'Neill has been in our system all along and he's in our squad now."

While James McClean and Shane Duffy are the two most notable examples of players who switched from Northern Ireland at the underage level and went on to have extensive international careers for the Republic of Ireland, O'Neill believes others would have potentially gained more caps for his team. "I think if you look at it from our point of view, there are not many players who have succeeded after switching from Northern Ireland," he noted. "I can think of two, James McClean and Shane Duffy, who had international careers with over 50 caps. Most of the other players who have made that switch have not played consistently or may not have had as successful an international career if they had stayed here."

"It is a decision for the player to make, ultimately, and we have to respect that, but as I've said all along, I think there are two sides to this. There is obviously who you feel you should play for, but there's also the situation regarding a football decision where you can have longevity in your international career."