Tariq Lamptey is considering to play for Ghana - England U-21 coach confirms

England U-21 coach, Lee Carsley has revealed Brighton and Hove Albion right-back, Tariq Lamptey asked to be left out of the England Under-21 squad because he is weighing up his international future.

The 21 year old was due to be in the Young Lions’ selection for their upcoming four Euro qualifiers against the Czech Republic, Albania, Kosovo, and Slovenia.

The former Chelsea academy graduate has represented England, the country of his birth, at different age groups below senior level. He has made two appearances for the under-21s.

Young Lions boss Lee Carsley revealed: “There’s an issue over his dual nationality. He’s had an approach. It’s something he’s considering at the minute.

“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 (from Ghana), 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.”

Carsley added: “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.

“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.”

Carsley added: “One thing we don’t want to do is force people to play for England.

Lamptey provided two assists in his 30 appearances for Brighton and Hove Albion in the just ended English Premier League season.

Lamptey, signed from Chelsea in January 2020, qualifies for Ghana through his parents.