England boss Gareth Southgate has explained his reasons for selecting Albion defender Ben White over his skipper and teammate Lewis Dunk. The 23-year-old received his first call-up as part of Southgate’s 33-man provisional squad ahead of the more experienced option of Dunk, who has already been capped by England. But Southgate has explained that age played a part in his decision to pick White instead of Dunk.
Gareth Southgate said: “It’s less that we see him (Ben White) ahead of Lewis (Dunk), but Ben is a younger player and there is a bit of an investment for the future there. We know Lewis has had a very good season with Brighton and I know Graham (Potter) is delighted with what he has done for them. With Ben we have tracked him since he has been on loan at Leeds we have seen him play in midfield, we have seen him play across the backline, he is comfortable with the ball and he has got pace. So we know it is still early with centre backs like Ben White, Ben Godfrey, Fikayo (Tomori). Centre backs usually mature much later. But these guys are getting good experience at a young age in some of the top leagues in the world, they are working with good coaches at their clubs and we think it is a good opportunity for them to come and work with us.”
