Lewis Dunk has experienced the ultimate honour of playing for his country and is determined that his one England appearance so far won’t be his last.
The Albion defender made his Three Lions debut against United States at Wembley in November 2018 and believes some of his team-mates could emulate his achievement.
He said, “You have always got to have ambitions [to play for England again], that’s the pinnacle of football - playing for your country and having those three lions on your chest.
“I’ve thankfully had that opportunity once and hopefully there’s more to come.
“I have just got to keep working hard in training, staying fit and prove that I am good enough with my performances in the Premier League so that I can get that call-up.”
Dunk was 27 when he was chosen by Gareth Southgate and feels there is plenty of opportunity for teammates Adam Webster (25) and Ben White (22) to impress the England manager.
“I made my debut at 27, so they’ve got a few years on me to get into the squad and they’re playing in the Premier League,” said Dunk.
“I was only in the Championship at their age. If they carry on the way they are they can play for England too. I will be buzzing to see that happen because they are both top boys and top players.”
It is now more than ten years since Dunk made his Albion debut against MK Dons but after signing his new five-year contract on Friday the club captain revealed he could have ended up playing for Wimbledon, if it wasn’t for the club’s relocation to Milton Keynes.
He said: “Back then the FA rule was you couldn’t travel more than an hour and half for training. I was at Wimbledon but then they transferred over to the new club at Milton Keynes.
“When I found out I was gutted but [former Albion youth coach] Martin Hinshelwood rang my Dad and said they wanted to sign me without needing to play in a trial.
“I was buzzing as a ten-year-old to be told I was signing straight away. I am very grateful for what Hinsh did in getting me here and what he has done during my career.
“Going to Brighton just fitted. My Dad was doing God knows how many hours driving to training and games. I think it was more him saying, ‘You should sign, it’s only ten minutes away; not an hour and a half!’ But he’s a Brighton fan, he used to go to games at the Goldstone Ground.”