Ben White Leeds
Posted in2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Brighton’s #BenWhite shines on his full England debut against Romania #BHAFC

June 7, 2021
The 23-year-old started and played the full 90 minutes for England in their 1-0 win over Romania in friendly at the Riverside Stadium yesterday evening. He became the first Albion player to start for England since skipper Lewis Dunk in a friendly against the USA at Wembley in November 2018. He partnered Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings at centre-half as part of a back four with Everton’s Ben Godfrey at right back and Manchester United’s Luke Shaw at left back. His performance earnt him plaudits from former England internationals Ian Wright and Lee Dixon, who were impressed by how ‘calm’ and ‘composed’ he was, with Dixon picking out White’s as the best performers in the back four. But after the game Gareth Southgate refused to be drawn on who will replace Trent Alexander-Arnold, with White one of six players in the running for the vacant spot in his their 26-man squad for the Euros. He said: “We will check how we are after the game medically and check there is nothing else we need to go through, so we will make that decision in the next 24 hours.” The only goal of the game came in the 68th minute after substitute Tiberiu Capusa’s pulled down Jack Grealish in the box. Marcus Rashford stepped up and calmly tucked his effort into the bottom corner. England won another penalty in the 77th minute after Vlad Chiriches bundled Dominic Calvert-Lewin over. Substitute Jordan Henderson took it but saw his effort saved by Sparta Prague’s Florin Nita. England had been unlucky not to take the lead in the first half after Calvert-Lewin’s header and Jadon Sancho’s curling effort both came back off the crossbar.
Jose Izquierdo Brighton
Posted in2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #JoseIzquierdo to leave Brighton when his contract expires #BHAFC

June 5, 2021
Jose Izquierdo will leave Brighton when his contract expires at the end of this month. The 28-year-old joined in August 2017 from Belgian giants Club Brugge. He played an important part in helping them stay in the Premier League in his debut season making 32 appearances, scoring five goals and getting four assists. Those five goals included two great strikes against West Ham. However over the last two seasons Izquierdo has been hampered by a serious knee injury, which led to him missing a chunk of the 2018/19 season as well as the whole of the 2019/20 season. In October Izquierdo made his return from injury for Albion’s Under-23’s and scored the winner against West Ham. He went on to play a further four matches for the 23’s over the next month. But Izquierdo’s comeback was then halted as he suffered a thigh injury. He worked his way back to full fitness and made his first appearance for Albion since June 2019, as he came off the bench in April against Sheffield United. Albion’s technical director Dan Ashworth said: “Jose has been unfortunate with injury over the last couple of years. “But he played a key role in helping the club establish itself in the Premier League and he has always been a positive presence around the squad. “We wish him all the best for the future and thank him for his services to the club.”
James Ward Prowse
Posted in2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #JamesWardProwse still has Euro 2020 chance after #TrentAlexanderArnold forced to pull out of England squad #SAINTSFC

June 5, 2021
SAINTS skipper James Ward-Prowse still has a chance for a late England Euro 2020 call-up after Trent Alexander-Arnold was ruled out of the tournament. The Liverpool defender suffered a thigh injury in Wednesday’s friendly win over Austria. Alexander-Arnold limped off in the closing stages of the 1-0 victory, with Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate offering a grim prognosis immediately after the game. His fears were realised when scans revealed the extent of Alexander-Arnold’s injury – with the Football Association confirming his withdrawal on Thursday. “Trent Alexander-Arnold has been ruled out of UEFA EURO 2020,” a statement said. “The Liverpool player sustained a thigh injury in the closing stages of Wednesday’s 1-0 win against Austria in Middlesbrough. “A scan on Thursday confirmed the 22-year-old will be unable to play in the forthcoming tournament so he has withdrawn from the England squad to return to his club for rehabilitation. “Gareth Southgate will not confirm a replacement until after Sunday’s return to the Riverside Stadium for the warm-up fixture against Romania.” Ward-Prowse is now one of the five outfield players on standby waiting to discover if they will be selected to replace Alexander-Arnold in the squad. Defenders Ben White and Ben Godfrey, who both made their debuts off the bench against Austria, as well as Jesse Lingard and Ollie Watkins are the others who Southgate can call upon. Saints skipper Ward-Prowse and the other players in contention to make the squad could still feature in Sunday’s warm-up fixture against Romania. “All the (omitted) players are going to stay with us through to the end of Sunday’s game anyway,” Southgate said. “Obviously we’ll make an assessment on the whole squad once we’ve got through that game. “I’m very conscious we’ve got another 90 minutes to get through and that alone is a bit of a challenge for us, really.” England face Croatia in Group D of the tournament on Sunday, June 13. They are then set to take on Scotland on Friday, June 18 and Czech Republic on June 22. All three of their group fixtures are at Wembley.
Trent Alexander Arnold and Virgil Van Dijk
Posted in2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- England National team confirm #TrentAlexanderArnold Injury #LFC

June 4, 2021
Brighton defender Ben White could work his way into England’s 26-man squad for the Euros after Trent Alexander-Arnold withdrew from the squad through injury. The Liverpool full back limped off late on in the win over Austria on Wednesday night. England released a statement which said: "The Liverpool player sustained a thigh injury in the closing stages of Wednesday’s 1-0 win against Austria in Middlesbrough.  "A scan on Thursday confirmed the 22 year old will be unable to play in the forthcoming tournament so he's withdrawn from the England squad to return to his club for rehabilitation.  But Gareth Southgate has confirmed he will not name a replacement until after Sunday’s friendly against Romania. White is one of six players on England's standby list with him and Ben Godfrey being the only defenders on that list.
James Ward Prowse
Posted in2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #GarethSouthgate explains why #JamesWardProwse is left out of England Euro 2020 squad #SAINTSFC

June 2, 2021
ENGLAND manager Gareth Southgate admitted “you never want to give bad news” after James Ward-Prowse was cut from his Euro 2020 squad. The Saints skipper was one of seven names to be trimmed down from the original 33-man group, as the Three Lions finalised their final 26-man party for this summer’s tournament. Ward-Prowse had been regarded as an important figure in the Three Lions setup, and a regular in recent squads. But reports surfaced on Sunday that the 26-year-old would not make the cut for the final squad, set to compete in this summer’s tournament. His fate was confirmed as England’s final squad was finalised hours before UEFA’s deadline for submissions. Mason Greenwood withdrew from selection due to injury, while the likes of Aaron Ramsdale, Ben Godfrey, Ben White, Jesse Lingard and Ollie Watkins were also not selected. Ward-Prowse could however still feature in England’s friendly with Austria at Middlesbrough tomorrow night, as well as Sunday’s showdown against Romania. Asked how tough it was to leave out the seven men cut from the group, Southgate said: “You never want to give bad news. “Anybody that’s been in a leadership position – it’s lovely to give people debuts, it’s lovely to bring people into the squad for the first time. It’s much harder to deliver difficult news. “With the lads this time, there were three of the boys who really knew they were coming in for the experience of training with us – they are with us for these two matches and who knows what might happen? “They have trained really well and we are really pleased with Ben Godfrey, Ben White and Aaron Ramsdale. They have added a lot to the group. “Mason Greenwood unfortunately had to pull out on Friday. We knew he wasn’t a contender over the past few days. “For me personally, it was very difficult to speak with Jesse (Lingard), who has given so much for England, performed so well for England over a long period of time. James Ward-Prowse who has been our captain with the under-21s and then Ollie Watkins who has had a tremendous season with Aston Villa. “Those three, I gave them the option of going home if they wanted to, but they were all adamant they wanted to stay – they wanted to be part of the group – they know they will be involved in these two matches. “Their commitment has been exemplary and their professionalism has been brilliant. It meant that yesterday (Monday) afternoon, when I had the conversations with those players – although they were disappointed, they knew where they stood. “It’s meant that the atmosphere around the camp has stayed positive and very relaxed.” Ward-Prowse went into the England camp having played every minute in the Premier League for the past two seasons. He also netted his first senior international goal in March, during a 5-0 World Cup Qualifying win over San Marino. Southgate added: “I think every squad is difficult because we have a lot of talented players in this country. “The most difficult thing is to not be able to take players who’ve been with us in previous matches and who are such good professionals. “So, I know what a disappointment that is for them at the moment not to be going to a major championship. “But we still have two friendlies to get to, and there’s been plenty of examples over the years where there have been injuries in those friendlies that have ruled people out. “So, there’s still time for those guys even though they’re not in at this moment in time."
James Ward Prowse
Posted in2020-2021-Season Daily News

#PLStories- #JamesWardProwse on adapting to his role as Saints skipper #SAINTS

June 1, 2021
JAMES Ward-Prowse feels age is merely a number when it comes to captaincy, as he approaches the end of his first year in the role. At 26, Ward-Prowse is the second youngest captain in the Premier League, behind only Jack Grealish. The Saints academy graduate took the armband from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in June of last year, after the Dane announced his intention to leave the club. Since, Ward-Prowse has played every minute for Saints and will hope to be part of Gareth Southgate's final 26-man England squad, due to be announced tomorrow. Speaking to The Super 6 podcast, Adam Lallana admitted being named Saints captain at such a young age was something that took some getting used to. Under Nigel Adkins, Lallana skippered the side at just 24-years-old, during the club's first season back in the Premier League, in 2012. "I was 24, I was so naive. I was captain but I didn't know what captain material was," Lallana said. "I was just being myself. "It was a little bit of a weight on my shoulders. It took me a year or so to adapt because subconsciously I thought I needed to do more on the pitch when I was captain, whereas you don't need to do any more. "I feel you just need to be yourself and that's enough. "I was trying to do too much and I gradually learned to deal with it and just ignored the armband." Asked if he feels age matters when it comes to captaincy, Ward-Prowse said: "I think it’s got to go to the right character, for sure. I don't believe that age matters at all. "I think it can be a little bit daunting sometimes if you are young and you’re trying to speak to an older player about certain things because he’s more experienced and he might know a little bit more about you. "But I think as a leader you have to trust in your abilities to lead. "You’ve been put in that position for a reason and you have to take that responsibility with courage and enjoy the role." Ward-Prowse is competing with fellow midfielders Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, Kalvin Phillips and Jude Bellingham for a spot in Southgate's Euro 2020 squad.