Southgate credits Godfrey’s ‘flexibility’ as key to England call-up
Gareth Southgate has explained his decision to call up Everton defender Ben Godfrey to his 33-man provisional England squad prior to Euro 2020.
The 23-year old defender was named as one of Southgate’s surprise picks alongside Brighton defender Ben White, while Godfrey’s Everton teammates Jordan Pickford and Dominic Calvert-Lewin were also selected.
Godfrey has not made Southgate’s squad for the upcoming European Championships however, with the England boss set to drop seven players before the cut-off point.
Speaking to the press shortly after England’s squad list was revealed, Southgate explained why Godfrey had been selected among the 33.
As reported by Everton’s official website, Southgate said of Godfrey and White: “They are both exciting young defenders.
“There are others we have been looking at who we really like. Ezri Konsa had a good season at Aston Villa and Fikayo [Tomori] has done well at Milan [where he was on loan from Chelsea].
“These two [Godfrey and White] are flexible, they play in different roles and can play left and right. This is a great opportunity for us to know them a bit better and for them to work with the team.
“It works for everybody.”
Absolutely deserved
Though Dominic Calvert-Lewin recently took home two trophies from Everton’s end of the season awards evening, Ben Godfrey could just as easily have found himself winning the club’s Player of the Season title.
Godfrey was arguably Everton’s best signing last summer, having consistently performed in a variety of positions throughout the campaign, and as such his England call-up is very much deserved.
It remains to be seen whether Godfrey can impress Southgate enough to convince him to take him to the Euros once he narrows down his squad, but the call-up on its own is deserved recognition for what was an impressive debut season on Merseyside.
Godfrey should now certainly provide the benchmark for what Everton look for in the transfer market, as the former Norwich defender possesses a strong mentality to accompany his ability and commitment on the pitch.
We hope he enjoys his time with England regardless of whether he makes the final cut and hopefully he’ll use his experience with the Three Lions to inspire him to keep performing at such a fine level for the Blues.
In other Everton news, a pundit has backed the Blues to sign this “incredible” nine-goal attacker.
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