Ben White set to be left out of Lee Carsley’s first England squad

Lee Carsley is not expected to reintegrate Ben White into the England squad when he makes his first selection as the interim manager on Thursday for the upcoming Nations League ties against Republic of Ireland and Finland.

White has not been involved with England since he returned early from the Qatar World Cup in December 2022 amid reports of a row with Steve Holland, who was then the assistant manager. The Arsenal defender’s situation is more nuanced, taking in how comfortable he has felt under the glare of the international spotlight, and the change of management after Euro 2024 from Gareth Southgate and Holland to Carsley has not changed things.

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Carsley, who is understood not to have spoken to White, is determined to put his own stamp on the squad; that could mean he leans on players he knows from his previous role as the England Under‑21 manager, such as Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon.

Rico Lewis is in the frame for a recall while Tino Livramento is hoping to be involved with the seniors for the first time. Carsley will consider the merits of other players from his under-21 days including Levi Colwill, Morgan Gibbs-White, Harvey Elliott, Noni Madueke, Morgan Rogers and James McAtee. Two others, Jarrad Branthwaite and Curtis Jones, have been injured so far this season.

Harry Maguire is pushing for a recall after missing out on Euro 2024 because of injury while Kieran Trippier is sweating on his place after being usurped by Livramento at Newcastle as the starting right‑back. Trippier did come on for him in the draw at Bournemouth on Sunday.

Kyle Walker has made it clear that he remains determined to carry on for England at the age of 34 – he has been unused on the Manchester City bench this season – while Carsley must decide whether to call up Aaron Ramsdale, Joe Gomez and Ivan Toney; none of them have played as yet this season. Toney’s situation has been linked to his desire to secure a move away from Brentford.

Carsley is unable to pick Luke Shaw or Jude Bellingham. Shaw is out with a calf problem, which he sustained at the beginning of pre-season with Manchester United, while Real Madrid have announced that Bellingham has plantar fasciitis in his foot.