Ben White to be left out of Lee Carsley's first England squad after Arsenal star receives warning

Lee Carsley is unlikely to call up Ben White to play for England todaytalkSPORT understands.

Carsley will call up his first international squad in his role as interim coach of the Three Lions ahead of two Nations League matches in September.

England will face the Republic of Ireland on Saturday 7 September and Finland on Tuesday 10 September in the first test of Carsley's tenure.

The former England Under-21 boss took over after Gareth Southgate announced he would step down following the team's 2-1 defeat in the Euro 2024 final.

It will therefore be the first time in eight years that someone other than Southgate has called the shots at the Three Lions as Carsley begins his bid to possibly take over the role on a permanent basis.

But one player who is unlikely to be in the squad is the Arsenal defender. White.

In March 2024, Southgate explained how the 26-year-old asked not to be considered for the England squad and consequently did not feature at the Euros.

Some reports had cited a fall-out with assistant coach Steve Holland – who is no longer in charge – as the reason for his departure, although Southgate had said there was “no problem between us at all and there's no problem with Steve either”.

White had been in excellent form for the club last season, making 39 appearances in all competitions.

And while it now looks like his absence will continue even with a new management team in place, not everyone is so sure he will always be happy with the decision he made.

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Former England and Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor He made three appearances for his country during his playing career.

He told talkSPORT Breakfast that they were some of the most treasured experiences of his time as a footballer.

“You know what I like?” he explained. “I've retired and nobody can take those England caps from you.”

“There are a lot of top players who didn't play for their country. They just didn't make the teams. They are very, very important players and when you look back you think: 'I could have played for my country'.”

And when asked if he thought White might come to regret not responding to an international call-up, Agbonlahor admitted there was certainly a chance of that happening.

“I think he might regret it,” he said. “But right now he might just be being stubborn and thinking it's not for me.”

“But now, looking back, I think that I played for my country and that cannot be taken away from me.”

While Agbonlahor values ​​his international appearances highly, he said he was not surprised by White's continued absence and explained there could be a number of reasons for it.

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“Maybe Ben White just wants his four days off in each international break as I said before,” Agbonlahor suggested.

“Maybe he's thinking about the future and that when the season starts he'll be able to play three or four days in Dubai. Maybe that's what he wants.”

“Every player (there) has to want to play for his country.

“If he doesn't want to, nobody can tell him 'you have to play for your country'.

“You might look at it and say, 'No, that's not for me.' And that's what it looks like.”

Someone who is likely to feature in Carsley's first team is the Manchester City defender. Rico Lewiswhich hopes to increase its unique international track record.

However, he will not be joined in the camp by Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham, as the midfielder has been… Ruled out for a while due to a calf injury He picked up.