England’s starting defender, Ben White of Arsenal, is not interested in being picked right now, according to Gareth Southgate.
Although he has been a star for the Premier League leaders this season, the 26-year-old former Brighton and Leeds player has not played for his country since the 2022 World Cup.
The Football Association stated that White had returned early from Qatar for “personal reasons,” but later rumors surfaced of an alleged altercation with England assistant Steve Holland.
When he had wanted to include the defender in his squad for March’s Euro 2024 warm-up friendly against Brazil and Belgium, Southgate denied any such altercation on Thursday.
White would have otherwise been included in the 25-man roster, the manager disclosed, adding, “Clearly on form I can’t sit here and say he doesn’t deserve to be in.”
“Edu, the sporting director of Arsenal, called John McDermott and me last week and stated that Ben didn’t want to be considered for England squads at this time.”
That is really unfortunate for me. I met with him after Qatar because I wanted to select the player we brought to the World Cup and the Euros.
“I should also clarify that there is never a problem with (coach) Steve Holland since it has been mentioned in papers, and I don’t like that. He is not available to us, and there is no issue between us at all.
“Leave that door ajar.” He would be on this squad, but he isn’t available to us, therefore I need to concentrate on finding others who can assist us.
Despite earning four senior England caps since joining Arsenal for £50 million, White has not been included in Southgate’s plans since leaving the previous World Cup in Qatar early.
White, who acknowledged that finding a home at the Emirates Stadium is “unbelievable,” inked a new contract with the Gunners earlier on Thursday.
As Mikel Arteta’s team leads the Premier League and gets ready to play in their first Champions League quarterfinal in 14 years, White has been an essential member of the team.
He played in every Premier League game the previous season, but Arsenal lost to treble-winning Manchester City at the finish line. This season, he has performed even better in his role as a right-back.
White, who rose through the ranks at Brighton, went out on loan for three seasons, playing for Newport, Peterborough, and Leeds, in that order, as he advanced through the ranks.
Following that, he played just one season in the Brighton first team before making such an impression on Arsenal that the Gunners were willing to pay £50 million to sign him in the summer of 2021.
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