Ethan Nwaneri is being considered for an England promotion, possibly even to the senior squad, but an u21 call-up is perhaps more likely.
Ethan Nwaneri made headlines again in midweek after scoring his first Champions League knockout stage goal in the 7-1 win over PSV Eindhoven with Arsenal.
If you didn’t watch the game, you might assume Nwaneri entered the fray late on and grabbed the seventh goal when the result was already confirmed. But the 17-year-old was a key player from the off, firing in Arsenal’s second goal in the 21st minute.
The goal was Nwaneri’s eighth of the campaign, despite having only played 1,019 minutes in all competitions. Perhaps it’s little wonder an England promotion is on the cards.
Nwaneri has only previously played for England up to u19 level, but Sami Mokbel reports for the Daily Mail that the FA aren’t ruling out a senior call-up in March.
The FA do believe that Nwaneri would benefit from at least one call-up for the England u21s, and that’s viewed as the most likely option at this stage.
But if there are any attacking injuries to England first-teamers in the coming days, that could see Nwaneri skip to the senior team. Thomas Tuchel’s squad will be announced next Friday.
Nwaneri is certainly above u19 football at this stage, despite only turning 18 later this month. If England don’t have room for him to get minutes, the u21 team is the most logical step.
The England u21s face France and Portugal on March 21st and 24th respectively.