After being left out of England’s last team, Brighton defender Tariq Lamptey is seriously contemplating transferring his international allegiance to Ghana.
The Young Lions’ forthcoming four Euro qualifiers against the Czech Republic, Albania, Kosovo, and Slovenia were likely to include the 21-year-old.
He has chosen to sit out the matches as he considers whether or not to play for the Black Stars.
Lamptey is of Ghanaian heritage and was born in Hillingdon, west London. He has two England U21 caps.
“There’s a problem regarding his dual nationality,” Young Lions manager Lee Carsley admitted. He has a strategy. It’s something he’s thinking about right now.
“He’s requested to be kept out of the team to give him some breathing room. He hasn’t been swapped, cemented, or anything like that.
“However, he has received an approach (from Ghana), which we must respect.”
“We’ve made it plain how much we value his presence in our lives.” I’m sure the seniors have, too.
“It’s not something we’ve abandoned.” Tariq understands how important he is to us.”
Lamptey has had numerous “nice chats” with Carsley regarding the issue, and the Albion right-back thinks that senior manager Gareth Southgate has also talked with him.
England’s alternatives in this position include Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, James Justin, Kyle Walker-Peters, Tino Livramento, and others.
“I’ve certainly have to give him a little more room now,” Carsley remarked. There’s a group of players there that are itching to play for England.
“I don’t believe it’s fair to leave one out while bringing in one who is uncertain.”
“However, Tariq is a key player for us, and we see a bright future for him on the pipeline, so I’ll certainly be returning to him.”
“He’d be a huge loss.” We have some excellent right-backs, but that doesn’t mean we should take our players for granted.
“We consider Tariq as a key player for not just the senior squad, but also the 21s,” says the coach.
Lamptey had a solid season, appearing in 30 games and contributing two assists.