He went on loan to Bognor and got roughed up… it did him good!
ENGLAND NEW BOY LEWIS DUNK’S JOURNEY TO THE TOP
AS LEWIS DUnk received his first England senior callup on the day John Terry brought the curtain down on his own career, a passage from a recent interview assumed renewed significance.
A Chelsea supporter growing up, the Brighton defender had an obvious hero. ‘I watched Terry from a young age and I used to pretend to be him in the park with my mates. He loves defending — he likes to play, too, but didn’t mind shoving his body in the way of a shot and getting hurt.’
Terry is the obvious prototype and the only surprise is that Gareth Southgate has waited this long. To his club, Dunk’s value is immense. Since Brighton were promoted to the Premier League in 2017, no English defender has eclipsed Dunk’s 62 blocks or 81 interceptions. Harry Maguire is the only English defender to have played more minutes and made more tackles in the top flight.
It is little wonder that Brighton have taken the unusual step of handing Dunk, 26, a new five-year contract every summer for the last four years, each time providing incremental pay rises.
The most recent contract, confirmed last week, was particularly significant after West Ham and Arsenal registered interest in the summer, while Leicester were ready to swoop had Maguire joined Manchester United.
Dunk, man of the match in the victory over West Ham on Friday, is back to his best after playing through pain-killing injections during the opening weeks. ‘The call-up is fantastic for the club,’ says former defender Steve Foster, the last Brighton player to represent England. ‘He will be fine in that England camp. My caps were in 1982. I was only young and remember walking in to see kevin keegan and Trevor Brooking. I shared a room with Glenn Hoddle and I got him to tune the television with his left foot!’
Dunk has been on Southgate’s radar for years. The England manager first confided in Brighton chief executive Paul Barber during the club’s 2016- 17 promotion campaign that Dunk was under consideration, but he maintained a watching brief.
Dunk has worked hard to iron out his flaws. In that promotion season, he picked up 12 yellow cards. Dunk’s father Mark, a plumber, has helped instil greater discipline, as has a psychologist from the Brighton academy. Dunk received seven yellow cards last season and is yet to be booked this campaign.
Brighton’s former academy director Martin Hinshelwood signed Dunk as a 10-year-old.
‘ We kept trying to get him,’ former Crystal Palace midfielder Hinshelwood recalls. ‘He was playing for Wimbledon and when they folded, we took him. He was always comfortable on the ball. He proved that with (Brighton manager) Gus Poyet, who liked what he saw in a Youth Cup game against Everton and promoted him to the first team. He played in midfield in some games. There were things to improve. His left foot needed work. He has improved that to the extent he now plays at left-sided centre half.
‘Sometimes he was a bit laidback. He abused the game a bit, taking risks where he didn’t need to, making a mistake and then using his pace to fix it. But it’s about learning from mistakes.’
Growing up in the Brighton academy, facilities were modest. Aged 19, he went on loan to nonLeague Bognor Regis. ‘They grow up quicker there,’ Hinshelwood explains. ‘We felt it was too easy on a Saturday in the Under 18s, so we sent him where it was important to the 500 people paying every week. And the boys got beaten up a bit! It did him good.’
Dunk received a huge wake-up call in 2013 when he and three team-mates were charged with sexual assault. Dunk was cleared at two trials and the ordeal made him more mature.
A close friend says: ‘It was time to forget the nightclubs and the Saturday nights. The biggest change came when he had his children, and he lives with his girlfriend. He is now a real family man and every year he gives a talk to Brighton’s academy scholars about the perils of professional football and highlights situations that can develop.’
At Brighton, his responsibility is growing, with manager Chris Hughton making him captain when Bruno does not play.
Hinshelwood says: ‘He’s a lovely boy. He recently signed a shirt for me and wrote a message thanking me for everything. He belongs with England. I felt he should have been at the World Cup.’