Morgan Gibbs-White believes Lee Carsley has the tactical and man-management smarts to secure the England manager’s job on a full-time basis. The Nottingham Forest attacking midfielder knows Carsley well from playing under him at under-21 level with England, a relationship that began in November 2021.
Carsley gave Gibbs-White 15 of his 18 under-21 caps and relied on him in the No 10 role during the team’s European Championship victory in the summer of last year.
Carsley has given Gibbs-White a first senior call-up as he prepares for his opening game in interim charge against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on Saturday. England then face Finland at Wembley on Tuesday. The former Ireland international midfielder is set to remain in the role for the October and November international windows and strong performances could lead to his appointment as the permanent successor to Gareth Southgate.
“I know how he works,” Gibbs-White said. “He’s great tactically and as a man-manager and I was buzzing when I heard he’d got the job. I felt he really deserves it and it suits him perfectly.
“Hopefully these games work out well for him and then you never know what the future holds. He’s told me to be myself, express myself – that’s the reason why I got the call-up.”
Gibbs-White had a storied England youth career, having been a part of Steve Cooper’s under-17 World Cup-winning team in 2017. Angel Gomes and Emile Smith Rowe are the other players to have won that tournament and the under-21 Euros, with Carsley also naming Gomes in his senior squad.
“In terms of having a winning mentality at age-group level, winning trophies, winning tournaments ... hopefully that is something I can bring to this squad,” Gibbs-White said.
Gibbs-White, the first Forest player called up by England since Stuart Pearce in 1997, knows his chance of making his debut at some point over the next week has increased because of the absences of Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden. The first two are injured; Foden has been ill.
“They are probably three of the best players in the world so to be behind them is a good and a bad thing,” Gibbs-White said. “I need to concentrate on doing what I do best and hopefully the opportunity will come.”
Meanwhile, Noni Madueke also saluted Carsley following his first senior call-up.
The Chelsea winger has made a bright start to life under new boss Enzo Maresca and has four goals in four games throughout all competitions, including a hat-trick in a 6-2 Premier League win over Wolves last month.
On the back of those performances, Madueke received his first call-up to the camp at St George’s Park and could made his debut on Saturday.
Madueke was also part of Carsley’s European Under-21 Championship squad in 2023 and the 22-year-old hailed the new England boss for his characteristics on and off the field.
Madueke told BBC Radio 5 Live: “First of all, he’s a great person. He’s a really good guy, and he’s very personable.
“He has a lot of human qualities that makes you feel good and at home.
“He’s also a great tactician. He has great ideas, and he’s also able to implement the way he wants to play in your mind and make it easy for you. I feel that the top managers all have that, and that’s a quality that he definitely has as well.
“I couldn’t speak more highly of him. He won the Euros with us.
“I feel like he’s a great manager – he knows the pathway, knows the system, knows the FA, he’s been working here for a long time, similar to Gareth [Southgate] in that sense.
“I hope he can do extremely well. I know I’ve got all the belief in him, for sure.”
Madueke was linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge this summer as Maresca continued his overhaul of the Chelsea squad.
The winger played 34 times under Mauricio Pochettino last season but with Chelsea’s incomings throughout the summer, Madueke would not have been blamed for thinking his place in the team was in jeopardy.
However, none of the rumours affected him. He added: “When you’re at a club like Chelsea and how it’s been recently, I think there’s always rumours and speculation but as a footballer you just have to go in every day and just do your job to the best of your ability. That’s really what I was focused on.
“I wasn’t really listening to too much about what was said about me – just focused on starting the season as well as possible. And thankfully, I’ve had a decent start.
“It was all just whispers and stuff. So I was just focusing on my football.”
