When Angel Gomes put down his phone after receiving his first call-up for the England national team last Thursday, he knew who he wanted to speak with.
Morgan Gibbs-White answered the FaceTime but neither spoke at first, instead smiles were enough to convey the message they had for each other.
“The first thing I thought was ‘I wonder if Morgan’s been called’ because, obviously, we’re very close,” Gomes said of his immediate thoughts after being called up.
“I didn’t want to ring him because I didn’t know if he had found out or not, and he didn’t want to ring me. So there was a bit of tension and my dad was just like ‘Ring him’.
“So I rang him and when he answered we both just looked at each other and started smiling before anyone said anything. I was like ‘No’ and he was like ‘Yeah’, and we just started jumping up and down. We were just buzzing.”
Gomes and Gibbs-White have progressed through the England age groups together. They won the 2017 Fifa under-17 World Cup and triumphed in last summer’s Uefa under-21 European Championship.
So when Lee Carsley, the manager of that under-21s side and now interim head coach of the senior team, called up both players for his first squad last week, it meant the next step in their careers would also be made in tandem.
“It’s something we’ve spoken about [for a long time],” Gomes said. “We played with each other when growing up in the age groups, we won the World Cup together and this last tournament, the Euros, was very special for us because in our case it was the last time we would play with each other unless we get called up to the seniors.
“So in our heads, it was: we have to win this and end on a high. We managed to do it and get called up together which is special.”
Midfielder has stood out with his passing
Gomes’s selection for the squad ahead of the Uefa Nations League fixtures, against the Republic of Ireland on Saturday in Dublin and Finland at Wembley three days later, was probably the boldest call by Carsley.
The 24-year-old admitted he has been on a “difficult” journey since becoming the youngest player to play for Manchester United since Duncan Edwards in 1953 and the first player born in the 2000s to play in the Premier League.
That debut in May 2017, at the age of 16 years and 263 days, did not represent the start of a lengthy United career — he would make a further four senior appearances — and left his boyhood club for Lille in 2020.
A loan move to Boavista saw the midfielder start games consistently but it was on his return to France that Gomes started to make his mark.
“When I left [United] it was more the idea to better myself as a player and person, being on the journey I went through I knew eventually I’d be able to create a pathway to be in this position I’m in now,” he said.
“It was difficult leaving the club I was in since six and heading into the unknown really for me personally. From then it’s been an uphill trajectory, but also with a lot of difficulties and difficult moments going through it, but being in this position now makes it all worth it.”
Gomes captained the England under-17 side which contained Phil Foden and Marc Guehi, but his first senior call-up has arrived a little later than first expected.
“Playing for your country, you can wait as long as it takes, the moment you can represent them at the highest level, that’s the highest you can have personally in your career,” Gomes added.
“I’ve seen everyone do it earlier than me, but it didn’t discourage [me], if anything it made me hungrier, and seeing team-mates you’ve played with go on to almost live your dream, you can’t be any happier for them. Even if it took me an extra three or four years, I’m just happy I’m in this position.”
Since last season Gomes has been a consistent performer in Ligue 1, and credited Lille’s former head coach, Paulo Fonseca, for moving him from an attacking midfield position into a more defensive role where he has flourished with his passing skills coming to the fore.
Gomes has also thrived with England under-21s and enjoyed working with Carsley, who watched him play in Lille’s 4-3 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday and has long been a fan.
“He’s very honest, he’s direct with his approach and is close to the squad and that helps as a player when a coach takes interest in not just you as a player, but as a person,” the midfielder said of Carsley. “One of the things he always says, is you give the best opportunity for yourself if you do well for your club.
“He’s very easy to speak to. He’ll ask you what you think of training sessions, games or pull you aside to see what you think. He’ll listen to you and a lot of younger players. When a manager puts that confidence in you, you repay it on the pitch.”
