Dunk becomes Brighton's first England call-up in 36 years

Agence France-Presse• ·
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 22: Lewis Dunk of Brighton and Hove Albion jumps for the ball under pressure from Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur at American Express Community Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Brighton, United Kingdom.
Charlie Crowhurst / Getty Images Sport / Getty

London - Brighton defender Lewis Dunk received his first call-up into the England squad on Sunday ahead of the Nations League fixtures against Croatia and Spain.

Dunk, 26, has replaced Burnley's injured James Tarkowski in Gareth Southgate's 25-man squad for Friday's match against World Cup finalists Croatia in Rijeka and the game against Spain in Seville three days later.

Brighton-born Dunk -- who signed a new five-year deal with the club on Friday -- will join the England squad on Monday.

"We are absolutely thrilled for Lewis, he fully deserves this call up," said Brighton manager Chris Hughton in a club statement.

"He's improved with every season, and on the back of an impressive first season in the Premier League he continues to progress; I'm delighted he has now been given recognition at international level."

Dunk is the first Brighton player to be called up by England since Steve Foster was a member of Ron Greenwood's squad for the 1982 World Cup in Spain and only the fourth overall.

XRedditFacebookWhatsAppEmailSMS

More Stories