Angel Gomes says receiving his first senior England call-up makes the difficulty of leaving Manchester United worth it.
After coming through United’s youth academy and making ten appearances for the club’s first-team, the 24-year-old midfielder left the club in the summer of 2020 in search of more senior opportunities.
Gomes excelled at first Boavista in Portugal before joining Lille in 2021, helping the French side win the Super Cup during the 2020/21 season.
He was handed his first senior England call-up last month by manager Lee Carsley, alongside Newcastle United’s Tino Livramento and Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White, and ahead of the Nations League game against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on Saturday, the midfielder spoke about his journey to the England senior side.
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Gomes said: “When I left (Man United) it was for the idea to better myself as a player and obviously as a person through the journey that I went through, and I knew eventually I’d be able to create a pathway to be in this position that I’m in now.
“It was difficult, obviously leaving the club I was at from six and heading into the unknown really, for me personally.
“From then, it has been an uphill [upwards] trajectory but also with a lot of difficulties and difficult moments going through. But being in this position now makes everything all worth it.”
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England call-up for Angel Gomes, the Man United academy graduate now starring for Lille
In addition to his form for Lille, Gomes has represented England from under-16 to under-21 level, winning both the under-17 World Cup in 2017 as well as the under-21 European Championship under Carsley in 2023.
When asked about working with Carlsey again, Gomes said: “He (Carsley) is very easy to speak to. He will ask you what you think of the training session, or the game or he’ll pull you aside and say I have got this planned out, what do you think.
“It’s not just him asking the questions, he wants your input he will listen and he will listen to a lot of the other players, and I think when a manager puts that ownership and confidence in you, you repay it on the pitch.”
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Lee Carsley: Irish player, English coach
(Tom Purslow/Manchester United via Getty Images)
