Tariq Lamptey, Is On The Verge Of Switching International Allegiance From England To Ghana

Tariq Lamptey is set to switch international allegiances from England to Ghana. 

The Brighton and Hove Albion right-back had earlier asked to be left out of England's squad for their upcoming European Under-21 Championship qualifying games later this month as he is considering representing Ghana.

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

England's Under-21 head coach Lee Carsley revealed weeks ago Lamptey has again been approached and is "considering" the offer. Lamptey was reportedly contacted by Ghana in July 2020 but made his England under-21 debut later that year.

The London-born but of Ghanaian decent, has two Under-21 caps, and has also played for England Under-18s and Under-19s, but yet to play for the English senior team.

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With Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James, James Justin, Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker likely a top option in the right-back position for England, and are named in Gareth's Southgate's squad for their Nations League games.

In the U21 squad alone, there are promising right-backs in Norwich’s Max Aarons and Ben Johnson of West Ham, so this looks like a good decision for Lamptey.

 

The 21-year-old is presently in Ghana for holidays with his dad, as well as for charity work, making some donations via his foundation  (Tariq Lamptey Foundation) while also playing football with the locals, and took the opportunity to watch the Black Stars 2023 AFCON qualifiers game against Madagascar at the Cape Coast stadium last Wednesday. 

He is now set to play for the Black Stars and strengthen Coach Otto Addo's side ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and Nations Cup qualifiers after having fruitful talks with the Ghana Football Association.

The Black Stars have been drawn in Group H to face Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay in Qatar 2022.

The former Chelsea full-back has been key to Brighton manager Graham Potter's team for past two seasons despite spells out with injury.

He started16 times for Brighton in the just concluded Premier League 2021-22 season, and made a further 14 appearances as a substitute.