England U21 manager Lee Casley has confirmed Tariq Lamptey has asked to be left out as he is considering an approach from Ghana.
A surprise omission from Casley’s squad for the European U21 Championship qualifying games, the right-back, 21, has featured for England at U18 and U21 level and last featured for England in late 2020.
“There’s an issue over his dual nationality. He’s had an approach. It’s something he’s considering at the minute,” Casley said, as per 90Min.com.
“He’s asked to be left out of the squad for a bit of headspace. He’s not switched, it’s not cemented or anything like that. But he’s had an approach, we have to respect that.
“We’ve made it clear how important we see him to us. I know the seniors have as well. It’s not something that we’ve given up on. Tariq is fully aware of how important we see him.”
The tactician explained that it would have been unfair to consider the Brighton star, who is unsure, at the expense of the other players.
“I’ve definitely got to give him a bit of space now. We’ve got a squad of players there that are desperate to play for England. I wouldn’t want to leave one out to bring one in that’s unsure, I don’t think that’s fair,” he added.
“But the opposite to that is Tariq is a big player for us and we see a real future for him within the pathway, so I’ll definitely be going back to him.
“He would be a big loss. We do have some really good right-backs, but that doesn’t mean we should become blasé about our players.
“We see Tariq as an important player for not potentially only the senior team but the 21s as well.”
He has two U21 caps and qualifies for Ghana through his parents.
Casley’s confirmation on Lamptey comes after reports earlier indicated that Eddie Nketiah and Callum Hudson-Odoi were considering switching allegiance to the Black Stars.
The West African nation will be part of Africa’s 2022 representatives in the World Cup to be held in Qatar after winning one of the five slots reserved for the continent.
