England Under-21 boss Aidy Boothroyd has promised Tottenham counterpart Mauricio Pochettino that Ryan Sessegnon is in good hands.
The 19-year-old has been given an instant recall to the Young Lions’ squad after missing the first three months of the season, having suffered a hamstring injury at Euro 2019 when England crashed out early.
Sessegnon, who joined Spurs from Fulham in August, has featured for less than 20 minutes so far for his new club – over two substitute appearances this month – and Pochettino admitted he would rather the teenager had not joined up with the national squad.
But, after calling Sessegnon up for games against Albania and Holland, Boothroyd reassured the Argentinian and insisted there was mutual understanding with managers over players.
“Yeah, it’s a trust situation,” he said. “The most important thing that Mauricio said was that he is a big player for us.
“Because he is a big player for us, we work together, make sure we get him fit, keep fit, and goes back to him better than when he arrives.
“He’s trained, looks very good, very strong, but we’ll make sure we look after him.
“Our job with all the players that come to us who might not 100 per cent fit is to make sure we look after them and by the time he goes back he is in a better position than when he joined us.”
England travel to Albania for Friday’s Euro 2021 qualifier top of Group Three.
They then play the Dutch in a friendly in Doetinchem next Tuesday in the final game of the year.
Boothroyd has rotated the captaincy, although Everton’s Tom Davies has been a regular choice, but he hinted Sessegnon could wear the armband in the future.
“He’s an exceptional talent,” Boothroyd said. “He’s played three years above his age group and has played in the European Championships already.
“As a player, there are plenty of things I could say about him, but the biggest and most important thing is he is such a great character.
“You know you can trust him and rely on him to do what he needs to do. Also, he pulls one or two others in and organises them.
“I think there are a lot of potential leadership qualities in him. He’s been unfortunate that his Spurs career has only just got going.”
Meanwhile, Bournemouth pair Lloyd Kelly and Sam Surridge, who is on loan at Swansea, have pulled out with thigh and knee problems respectively.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here