England could afford a sigh of relief at least for the meantime as Brighton defender Tariq Lamptey has denied speculations linking him with a nationality switch to Ghana.
Several local reports and online speculations claim the 21-year-old has travelled to the shores of the West African nation as talks between his parents and officials of the Ghana FA take shape.
Lamptey, a former Chelsea academy player, is an England U21 international with 2 appearances for Lee Carsley’s side.
A couple of weeks ago the U21 head coach confirmed that pocket-size wing-back has asked to be excused from England duty and he turned down a call-up for the international.
His arrival in Ghana fueled the speculations about his international future with Ghana Soccer Net reporting that his parents met Ghana FA officials on Tuesday.
But, the player has denied the reports and insisted he is in Ghana for an entirely different purpose.
“It feels good to be back, it’s nice and hot. There is some good food and I am enjoying that,” he is quoted as saying.
“To be honest, I just came back for holiday. Obviously, it’s been a good but long season so I just came to get some rest, some sun – I’ve come to see some family and friends that I have not seen for a while. I’m taking this opportunity just to relax and whine down after a long season.”
He is speculated to be one of the players considering committing their international future to Ghana along with Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi, and Athletic Bilbao brothers Nico and Inaki Williams.
If he chooses to ditch England’s Three Lions for the Black Stars he will become the second player to do so in recent memories after former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong swapped England for the four-time AFCON winners.
Brighton attacker Danny Welbeck was hotly pursued by the Ghana FA around 2011 when he was in top shape at Manchester United he opted to stick with England where he went ahead to score 16 goals in 42 senior appearances.
