Ben White refused England call-up after Gareth Southgate's talks with Edu

14 March 2024 , 14:17

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Ben White has not been included in the latest England squad

Gareth Southgate has revealed that Ben White did not wish to be considered for the latest England squad - and all but ruled him out of this summer's European Championships.

The Three Lions boss was informed of White's wishes by Arsenal sporting director Edu in a phonecall last week. The latest England squad was named today ahead of fixtures later this month.

Speaking at Wembley on Thursday, Southgate explained: "We had a call from Edu last week to say that Ben didn't want to be considered for England squads at this time. It's a great shame."

Southgate stressed that he did not want to close the door on bringing White, 26, back into the fold in the future, however, he conceded the versatile defender was now unlikely to be in contention for England's Euro 2024 squad.

He added: "Clearly to come in for June now would be difficult. Others have been in squads and playing regularly. When you have a situation like that you’ve got to assess those who‘ve been on journey all the way through,we’ve done that over the years."

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White has been in fine form for Arsenal but has not played for England since leaving the Qatar World Cup early in late 2022. Southgate refuted claims that White has an issue with either him or assistant coach Steve Holland.

Although White will not represent his country in fixtures later this month, he has been in fine form for Arsenal and was rewarded with a bumper new contract this week.

White recently signed a new long-term contract

The former Brighton star, who is now committed to Arsenal until the summer of 2028, reacted to the news by warning the club's title rivals that they were only going to get stronger with the nucleus of Mikel Arteta's squad now tied down.

Edu added: "We are so happy to have completed a new long-term contract with Ben. Since Ben joined us, his contribution and commitment have been of such high quality. Our supporters love him, we love him and we look forward to enjoying Ben’s performances with us for years to come."

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Dan Marsh