Martin Glenn, the English FA's chief executive, has confirmed that 13-year-old Celtic wonderkid Karamoko Dembele is a target for England.
London-born Dembele, who made his debut for Celtic Under-20s earlier this month, is believed to have trained with England Under-15s at St George’s Park this week despite being included in Scotland’s Under-16 Victory Shield squad for Sunday’s clash with Northern Ireland.
Scottish FA chief executive Stewart Regan has vowed that Scotland will do everything they can to stop the their English counterparts from snatching the playmaker. Dembele is eligible to play for Scotland through the ‘school rule’ and could also represent the Ivory Coast through his parents.
Read more: Stewart Regan vows to ensure Karamoko Dembele commits his future to Scotland
Glenn said: “We’ve got a good talent identification programme. Kids come through at that age or they surprise you a little bit later.
“I don’t think anything has changed. He sounds like a talented kid, good luck to him and we’ll see how it goes. Everyone has their trials.”
Glenn, meanwhile, admits Scotland will come up against an England team inhibited by the Three Lions jersey. Gordon Strachan’s side face England in a crucial November 11 World Cup qualifier at Wembley.
Read more: Stewart Regan vows to ensure Karamoko Dembele commits his future to Scotland
Gareth Southgate will be in the England dugout for that game after Sam Allardyce resigned last month having being filmed allegedly agreeing to offer advice on how to get around FA transfer rules. Glenn admits the next permanent manager will need to address any mental frailties among the players.
He said: “If you look at us, we have been very successful in winning tournaments in the development teams, the Under-21s, the Under-19s.
“When we put our kids up against the best in the world, we’re winning. We’re not translating that enough when it comes to the men’s senior teams.
“We think the difference is really psychological preparation, this fear factor when you put the England shirt on. The manager that we hire will be someone that really understands that and has really detailed plans to address it. It is how you eliminate the fear factor so that when things go against you, you can adapt on the pitch. We were more than capable of beating Iceland [at Euro 2016] but when things didn’t go our way you could sense the great players actually freezing up.”
Read more: Stewart Regan vows to ensure Karamoko Dembele commits his future to Scotland
Scotland fans face a late rush to get a ticket for the match at Wembley after the Scottish FA announced that a limited number of briefs will be released today.
The Tartan Army have already snapped up their entire 13,700 allocation after the SFA managed to secure an extra 7,000 seats.
But members of the Scotland Supporters Club who missed out on the initial sale can try to get their hands on the remaining tickets today.
Briefs will be available from noon this afternoon to midday on Monday, October 31 and are available from tickets.scottishfa.co.uk.
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