Tariq Lamptey and the tug of war between England and Ghana

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Tariq Lamptey and the tug of war between England and Ghana

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Tariq Lamptey and the tug of war between England and Ghana

Andy Naylor

Tariq Lamptey is in no rush to resolve the tussle between England and Ghana over his international future.

“I’m just looking forward to time with my family and friends,” the Brighton & Hove Albion full-back said after Sunday’s closing 3-1 victory against West Ham United at the Amex Stadium. “We’ll think about the rest later.”

Lamptey’s request to be left out of the England Under-21 squad, announced on Thursday, for upcoming European Championship qualifiers against the Czech Republic, Albania, Kosovo and Slovenia buys him more time to concentrate on a big decision.

Lamptey qualifies for Ghana through his parents. His father, Ahmed, is a major influence.

If Lamptey chooses the Black Stars, he could be showcasing his talents at the World Cup in Qatar in November and December with an illustrious array of names.

Ghana are in Group H with Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea. Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Son Heung-min, Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani are a small sample of the players he could be up against.

Lamptey, Ronaldo, Man Utd
Lamptey could face Ronaldo at the World Cup (Photo: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
That’s appealing for a 21-year-old, especially as he’s likely to get plenty of game time.

Chris Hughton, Ghana’s technical director/advisor, is trying to persuade Lamptey, Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi and Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah to change their national allegiances from England.

Former Brighton manager Hughton regards Lamptey not just as an attacking right-back but also as a right winger. He has been used in that more advanced role in recent months by Hughton’s successor at Brighton, Graham Potter.

Lamptey has represented England at different age groups below senior level, including two appearances for the under-21s.

England are desperate not to lose him. Under-21 coach Lee Carsley admits he has been ringing Lamptey “every day”. He says: “We’ve made it clear how important we see him to us. I know the seniors have as well.”

It’s unfortunate for Lamptey that Gareth Southgate has so much strength in depth at right-back. The England head coach’s squad for Nations League fixtures in June against Hungary (twice), Germany and Italy includes Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier and James Justin, who has been called up for the first time.

That is without mentioning Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Max Aarons, Kyle Walker-Peters or the injured Tino Livramento. Even in the under-21 squad, they have Nottingham Forest loanee Djed Spence and Ben Johnson of West Ham.

Players can switch national sides as they as long as they have played three senior appearances or fewer, and those appearances came before they were 21. One of the most high-profile players to recently switch allegiance was Jamal Musiala who chose to represent Germany, the country of his birth.

The England pathway for Lamptey is heavily congested but that could change and he has time on his side. He’ll only be 25 when the 2026 World Cup takes place in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Walker, who turns 32 tomorrow (Saturday) and 31-year-old Trippier won’t be blocking the route by then.

Whether Lamptey chooses to stay with England or to switch to Ghana, they will reap the benefits of an exciting young talent who demonstrated in his first full season with Brighton that he is over the hamstring surgery that ruled him out for nine months.

It wasn’t quite a full season in terms of Lamptey’s availability. He only returned in September from the injury, which had ruled him out since the previous December, but quickly allayed fears he may have lost the explosive pace and attacking adventure.

One passage of play against West Ham, after he had been introduced by Potter as a 75th-minute substitute when the score was 1-1, showed the damage Lamptey can inflict on opponents by rapidly turning defence into attack.

In the image below, he is being closed down by Michail Antonio and Mark Noble after team-mate Joel Veltman passes to him deep inside his own half, close to the right-hand touchline.



Lamptey controls the ball with his left foot, shifts it onto his right foot and uses his electric speed to go past Noble to progress the play in the space ahead of him.



Declan Rice has closed the space down as Lamptey advances towards the halfway line.



Lamptey accelerates past the England midfielder, taking the ball into West Ham territory. Kurt Zouma and the rest of the visitors’ back four are suddenly on the back foot.



Lamptey ended up playing a part in 30 of the 33 league matches he was available for, including 16 starts.

His total game time, with 14 substitute appearances factored in, amounted to 1,556 minutes.

Lamptey, speaking exclusively to The Athletic, says: “I’m feeling really good. I feel like I’m back and I’m even better than before. I’ll keep training hard and listening to what everyone is saying. I’m looking to kick on next year, play as many games as possible, keep improving as a player, and we’ll see.

“You always have to make sure you’re trying to better yourself. I’m blessed that I have coaches and a group that I’m able to learn from. It was my first real injury. No player likes to have that, but I had a good group around me that was supporting me. That’s in the past now. I’m buzzing to be back on the pitch.”

Lamptey created five big chances and provided two assists in the games he played, including Neal Maupay’s opening goal in the 2-0 win at Watford in February.

The image below shows Lamptey assessing his options at Vicarage Road after receiving a short pass from Pascal Gross. Maupay is signalling that he wants the ball just outside the box.



Danny Welbeck’s run into the penalty area makes room for Maupay. Lamptey picks the Frenchman out with a precise cross.



Mapauy swivels to strike a right-foot shot beyond Watford keeper Ben Foster into the top corner of the net.



Lamptey also produced the cross from which Maupay scored a spectacular overhead equaliser in stoppage time in the 1-1 draw at West Ham in December.

His delivery is not always as perfect as it was at Vicarage Road or the London Stadium. He had a crossing accuracy of 20 per cent in the 2021-22 season.

Clearly, that is an area he can improve on, but England and Ghana are vying to secure his services for good reason.

Potter says: “Overall, I’m really happy with how he’s come back. It was a long injury and a frustrating injury. To miss that amount of time is tough. He’s come in and helped the team a lot. We’ve played him higher at times, which he’s done well. He’s affected the back line of teams in some really good team performances, away at Chelsea for example, at home against Leeds he did really well.

“He’s affected the game, affected the goal, the cross for Neal against West Ham, the cross for Neal’s goal against Watford. It would be unfair to expect too much more, considering the length of injury and how young he is.”

(Top photo: Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images)

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Re: Tariq Lamptey and the tug of war between England and Ghana

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The boy get correct sense. Play for ghana.. I approve his stance 100%
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