Phil SumblerIf Jamie Paterson was on a fishing trip yesterday then he certainly kept more than his fair share of Cardiff fans busy with his comment about having a grandfather from Neath that would give him a Welsh qualification.
The topic started when Paterson replied to a thread from Swansea fan Natasha Mitchell who stated that she hoped the Swans star “mams sisters cousins grandmother twice removed is Welsh.”
Paterson’s response was almost immediate as he replied that his Grandad was from Neath which provided a host of responses, most of them on the positive from Swansea fans urging the FAW to look into the possibility.
My Grandads from neath! 💪🏼 https://t.co/ydNGArNPti
— Jamie Paterson (@jamiepaterson12) November 14, 2021
All was not positive though in the East as Cardiff fans – still smarting from Paterson showing them how to play the game last month – were less than enthused about the possibility of someone else from Swansea playing for the national side.
Former team mate and one of Wales’ goalscorers on Saturday night, Connor Roberts, was in on the act as he replied to a comment from Paterson on his own instagram with the comment “When we going to tell them you can play for Wales”
Paterson’s own Wikipedia page makes no reference to a Welsh qualification, stating that internationally he can play for England and also Scotland, for whom he qualifies through his parents.
So is Paterson eligible for Wales? The simple answer is, we don’t know. Whether he is or not it is probably worth the FAW looking slightly further into the matter and there is little doubt that, given his recent form, if he was eligible then a call up could very much be on the cards (assuming he wanted one.) If he isn’t then he has added another fishing trip to his Twitter CV and grabbed a few more into the process.
Personally I err on the side of a fishing trip right now given this has never been mentioned before and the media did not jump on this one yesterday but I’ll guarantee that there may have been a few family trees being examined somewhere in Cardiff yesterday as a result of the tweet whatever the outcome.
Either way it brightened up a Sunday afternoon without football and that in itself is never a bad thing.
