MX23RW : Wednesday, November 27 14:35:02| >> :120:3932:3932:

Hodgson hopes Wan-Bissaka's international future lies with England

Hodgson hopes Wan-Bissaka's international future lies with England
© Reuters
The 21-year-old full-back is also eligible to play for the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Roy Hodgson expects Aaron Wan-Bissaka to resist any temptation to play international football for the Democratic Republic of Congo and to instead commit his promising future to England.

The Crystal Palace full-back has excelled since Hodgson handed him his first-team debut little over a year ago, and to the extent that the  21-year-old is in contention for an England call-up in a position in which Gareth Southgate already has significant strength in depth.

Kyle Walker, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kieran Trippier are already vying for selection at right-back, potentially blocking Wan-Bissaka's route, but while Hodgson recognises his eligibility for DR Congo through his parents, he does not believe he will abandon England.

West Ham's Declan Rice recently switched allegiances from the Republic of Ireland to England, who Hodgson selected Wilfried Zaha for before he committed to the Ivory Coast, but the Crystal Palace manager said: "I don't see any signs of him wishing to change allegiance.

"I personally hope he doesn't because he is a very, very good player. I do understand players who never get a chance to play for their country, maybe playing for the country of their parents' birth. But he is already playing for his country, playing for England (at Under-21 level).

"He was born and brought up here in England. Obviously he has a liaison to his parents with Congo. But basically speaking he has been a very important part of Aidy Boothroyd's Under-21 team for at least a couple of seasons.

"He has been one of the cogs that enabled the team to qualify for the World Cup and take part this summer, which he is really looking forward to.

"If Aaron gets selected for the national team, we will be really pleased, of course. I don't intend to make any suggestions to (Gareth Southgate) in that respect.

"I work on the basis that he knows Aaron, he knows the other players who are competing for that place, too, and he will make the decision which suits him and if Aaron is selected for the senior team, we will be delighted.

"We are equally delighted he is doing so well for the Under-21s. For us, it's a win situation."

Palace on Saturday host rivals Brighton, who will move level with them on 33 points if they win but remain at risk of relegation if they do not.

"This is a very important fixture and one that means a lot to our fans," said Hodgson.

"You prepare them to give a good performance and remind them of the importance of this game to the fans.

"It's one of the nine big games we have remaining. We do realise the importance of occasions; we do realise that to a lot of supporters, this means more than even a game against Manchester United.

"But it's a game that we have to make certain we don't allow our performances to in any way be affected."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Declan Warrington, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '3f85b56a-1bdc-47e2-9cd1-b4d7aadea295');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Hodgson hopes Wan-Bissaka\u2019s international future lies with England'});

ID:352739: cacheID:352739:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5642:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Aaron Wan-Bissaka in action for Crystal Palace on August 28, 2018
Read Next:
Bayern, Dortmund interested in Palace pair?
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Fulham125341717018
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle125341313018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham124351519-415
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!