by Of the four newcomers to the squad, no player better symbolises the start of Lee Carsley’s new England revolution than Angel Gomes.
Few fans have seen the 5ft 11in midfielder in action but Carsley saw enough of him for Lille in France to make him a vital part of his England Under-21 side that won the Euros last summer without conceding a goal.
The reason behind his promotion to seniors is quite clear.
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Last week, Carsley described Gomes as having a “different” profile to most other central midfielders, while former Lille manager Paulo Fonseca said in April: “Angel is perhaps the most intelligent player I have in my team.”
And Gomes himself, asked recently to list his positions, replied: “Left wing, right wing, No.10, high No.8, No.6 and double pivot.” Just as the U21s did, Carsley believes the England seniors can reap the rewards.
When Gomes turned down a contract extension offer from Manchester United and joined Lille in 2020 in search of more game time, he was convinced he would “eventually create a path” to the top.
Thanks to a loan spell and a change of position, he managed to achieve that and will now hope to make his England debut in the upcoming Nations League games against the Republic of Ireland and Finland.
Gomes grew up in Edmonton, London, to a father of Angolan descent who played for Portugal at youth level, but finished his career at Salford City and other non-league clubs, settling in Manchester.
Tipped for the best from a young age, Gomes was six when he joined Manchester United’s academy and was pictured alongside his godfather Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo at Carrington. Marcus Rashford was his roommate at U12s.
Gil Gomes never imposed his roots on his son, and once Angel represented the England Under-16 team in 2015, the dream of reaching the senior level was born.
Gomes is the first player born in the 2000s to play in the Premier League. When he replaced Wayne Rooney on the final day of the 2016-17 season, aged 16 years and 263 days, he became United’s youngest player since Duncan Edwards in 1953.
Later that year he twice captained an England team comprising Phil Foden, Marc Guehi and Conor Gallagher that won the Under-17 World Cup in India.
He did not get much regular game time at United and Gomes rejected a new contract in 2020 to join Lille, who immediately sent him on loan to Portuguese side Boavista.
Gomes said on Wednesday that going abroad was “very difficult” but he adapted quickly, capping his Boavista debut with a hat-trick of assists. After a season as Lille’s substitute No.10, the transition to a deeper midfield role is rooted in Fonseca’s appointment as coach in 2022. It was a masterstroke.
His vision and composure made up for his small stature and slender frame from a young age, and at Lille, those traits were allowed to develop away from the spotlight. Carsley watched Lille take on Paris Saint-Germain in 2023 and saw Gomes adopt several positions in the game. Lionel Messi won the match 4-3 for PSG, but was impressed enough to swap shirts with Gomes.
Last season, fresh from his role in England Under-21s’ glory at the Euros, he finished top of the Ligue 1 assists charts.
He said of England at Euro 2024: “I could see where I would fit in.” Carsley saw that too.
England had just 34% possession against Spain in the final, and 39% against Italy in the Euro 2020 final, not much better.
Carsley said last week that control was the best way to minimise bad luck in big games. Gomes is his lucky charm.
