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6th September 2024
01:53pm BST
England star Conor Gallagher has revealed that he doesn't know who his Irish girlfriend will support when the Boys in Green play host to England in the Nations League at Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
The former Chelsea and Crystal Palace midfielder is included in Lee Carsley's 26-man squad to travel to Dublin this weekend, just weeks after completing a £34 million transfer to La Liga side Atletico Madrid.
The Epsom-born footballer made the move to the Spanish capital with his long-term girlfriend Aine May Kennedy - who hails from Cork.
The 26-year-old is a model and professional dancer has over 69k followers on Instagram, and the pair reportedly crossed paths and began dating in 2018.
In May, Kennedy posted a picture alongside her beau on the pitch at Stamford Bridge, along with a lengthy caption.
She wrote: "Another year. My best friend. I am so proud of everything you achieve.
"Watching you become captain, and what it meant to you this year was speechless. All the ups the downs.. Yet this year has been one of the best. CG23"
Over the summer, Kennedy was pictured supporting her man at the European Championships in Germany, where England lost out to Spain in the final.
The Corkonian donned a Three Lions shirt indicating that she is willing to lean towards support for England when Gallagher is on the pitch.
In August, the couple attended the All-Ireland senior hurling final between Cork and Clare in Croke Park.
Speaking to the Irish Mirror, Gallagher spoke about the experience of being at the home of GAA with Kennedy's family on the day.
"My girlfriend is from Cork and we went to Dublin to support them with some of the family and had a great time," he said. "I really enjoyed it and it was great to see her family out there as well.
"It was really interesting to go and see the match. It’s a really exciting sport. And tough to be fair. I’d never watched a live game before of hurling and yes, it’s very intense."
Asked who his girlfriend will be backing at Aviva Stadium on Saturday, Gallagher added: "I don’t know actually. She always supports me but obviously she’s an Irish girl and I’m sure she doesn’t mind."
Gallagher was called upon from time to time during Gareth Southgate's tenure as England manager, but will be hoping to make a strong impression during the early days of former Republic of Ireland midfielder Carsley's spell as interim coach of the Three Lions.
Ireland vs England kicks off at 5pm tomorrow, with team news expected to be announced about an hour before.
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