BURTON, England (AP) — As a youth player at Manchester United, Angel Gomes was seen as a future star for club and country. But his route to England’s national team has not been straightforward.
For a start, it came after Gomes made the bold decision to walk away from United — one of the world’s biggest soccer teams and the club he supported as a child.
“When I left, it was more for the idea to find myself, find myself as a player and, obviously, as a person going through the journey that I went through, I knew that eventually I’d be able to create a pathway for myself to be able to be in this position that I’m in now,” the 24-year-old midfielder said Wednesday.
Gomes was talking after being called up to England’s senior squad for the upcoming UEFA Nations League games against Ireland and Finland.
He has already represented his country at youth level and was part of the teams that won both the under 17s World Cup and U21s European Championship.
The step up to the national team, however, comes after Gomes opted to develop his game in Portugal and France with Boavista and Lille, respectively, after his progress at United stalled.
His faith in his own ability has proved well-placed after his call-up under interim coach Lee Carsley, who was in charge of that U21 Euros victory last year.
Gomes’ senior debut for United came in 2017 when at age 16 he replaced club great Wayne Rooney as a late substitute.
He stayed at United for a further three years, but after making just nine more appearances, he left for Lille and was immediately loaned to Boavista.
“It was difficult leaving the club that I was at from six and headed into the unknown really. From then it’s been an uphill trajectory, but also with a lot of difficulties and difficult moments, but being in this position now makes everything all worth it,” Gomes said.
Some might say Gomes was destined to become a top player. His godfather is former United and Portugal winger Nani, who was close friends with Gomes’ father — a former Portugal youth player named Gil.
Gomes is eligible to represent Portugal on his father’s side, but says it was only ever England for him — even after watching his peers like Phil Foden, Conor Gallagher and Jadon Sancho get international recognition ahead of him.
“Playing for your country, you can wait as long as it takes. The moment you’re able to represent your country at the highest level that you know, that’s the highest moment you can get to in your career,” he said. “And I’ve seen everyone do it early, but it didn’t discourage me. If anything, it made me hungrier.
“Seeing teammates that you played with from 15, 16 go on to almost live your dream, you can’t be any happier for them. Whether it took me an extra three years, four years or however long it takes, I’m just happy that I’m in the position that I’m in now, and I hope that it continues.”
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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