LEE CARSLEY has confirmed he will still pick Flo Balogun for this summer’s Under-21 Euros even if the on-loan Arsenal forward has not committed his future to England.
Balogun, 21, is at the centre of an international tug-of-war with the USA keen to prise him from the Three Lions’ grasp.
Interim US boss Anthony Hudson has been in talks with the Reims hotshot and his camp, while Gunners and US goalie Matt Turner has said his club team-mate would make an excellent addition to the States’ side.
Just this week Balogun, who is also eligible to play for Nigeria, said he had not made a final decision as to the country he wishes to play for in the long term.
Balogun has seven goals in 13 caps for England’s Under-21s side, though is out of Saturday’s friendly against France and Tuesday’s clash with Croatia with a tight hamstring.
Young Lions chief Carsley has been in regular contact with the forward and hopes he will ultimately commit to England.
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Yet when asked if he would still select Balogun for June’s major tournament in Georgia and Romania if the forward had not made his mind up by then, Carsley replied: “Yeah I would.
“I can only go off the relationship that we’ve got and the conversation that we’ve had, he’s never given me any inkling that he’s looking elsewhere.
“I have spoken to him quite a bit.
“He said he was looking forward to the summer and all the rest of it so I will follow that up after camp. I’ll make sure that I go over (to France).
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“I’ve been to France a couple of times now to watch the players and I’ll make a point of going over and meeting Flo.”
Balogun, who has hit 17 goals on loan at Ligue 1 side Reims this season, is the latest player that England face a battle to keep hold of because of having more than one nationality.
The Three Lions already lost midfielder Yunus Musah to the US, Jamal Musiala to Germany and, most recently, Brighton’s Tariq Lamptey to Ghana.
Carsley commented: “You can’t twist someone’s arm to play for England.
“We can only make him feel as welcome as we can. We rate him highly. We’ve supported him when things weren’t great. We called him into the 21s when he was playing for Arsenal’s U23s because I knew what potential he had.
“Obviously he had the loan move to Middlesbrough which was OK. He’s done excellent this season, he’s really going in the right direction.
“If you think about the development that he’s on he’s going in the right direction and hopefully we can still be a part of that. He is is a big player for us.
“You’ve seen the campaign that we’ve had, he’s been really integral to that.
“Beyond the Under-21s we can only hope that he still feels that he’s got a chance with us, and I feel that’s the case. But, you know, ultimately it will be down to him.”
Meanwhile, Morgan Gibbs-White will captain England’s Under-21s for their clash with France on Saturday at Leicester’s King Power Stadium.
The Nottingham Forest star was recently namechecked by Gareth Southgate as someone not far away from a senior call-up.
Carsley added: “Gareth watches probably more games than any coach in the pathway in terms of the Premier League, so he will have seen Morgan play a lot at Forest.
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“Like two or three of the players, he’s in a strong position, he just needs to keep going.
“The more assists he gets, the more goals he scores, it gives him a stronger opportunity (of making the seniors).”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
