Carsley: Keane has shown he can play at under-21 England level
Lee Carsley admits he’ll be watching Keane Lewis-potter’s progress in the early weeks of the new season with interest after the Hull City star capped a productive international spell with an assist off the bench on Monday night. England’s Under-21s rounded off their European Championship 2023 qualifying campaign with a shock 2-1 home defeat to Slovenia, their first qualifying defeat in 55 games, a run that dates back 11 years, though they remained top of Group G and safely through to next summer’s tournament in Georgia and Romania.
Lewis-potter was handed a first start for his country by Carsley on Friday night in Kosovo, and the City youngster scored two minutes in as the Three Lions romped to a 5-0 victory.
He was back on the bench in Huddersfield on Monday evening, coming off the bench in the final 15 minutes to set up Aston Villa’s Cameron Archer for what proved to be nothing more than a consolation for a belowpar England.
His cameo, however, impressed Carsley who has been delighted with the way in which the 21-year-old has settled into international life, following his first call-up to the squad in March.
“We try and create an environment where they can perform, where they can relax,” Carsley told the Mail.
“We give them a lot of responsibility but they know they have to perform when they’re here, so whatever you need to do to get to that point you make sure that you do.
“He’s been good. He’s stood up for himself and showed that he’s more than capable of playing at this level.
“He did really well the other night (against Kosovo) and scored a good goal. He was unlucky here to not get on the end of the cross (late on) and I’m looking forward to seeing how he gets on next season.
“The majority, if not all of them have been selected because of what they do for their clubs so it’s important they bring that club form to us. I’ve watched Keane so often this season and his first action in the game (against Kosovo) was a goal, so it’s brilliant for him. There’s a lot positives, and I though the lads that made their full starts were very good.
“He’s settled in really well with the group. He’s a quiet character. There are not many lads that come in and hit the ground running and take off, Keane would probably have been working out where he sits in the pecking order within the group.”
Whether Lewis-potter remains at the MKM Stadium or gets a move to the Premier League is another topic of conversation, and Carsley says the Hull-born frontman must keep his consistency levels high if he’s to remain in what is a supremely competitive squad.
“Every day in training he’s outstanding, he trains at a good level and he scores a lot of goals in training,” Carsley continued. “He’s got a really good technique and is calm when he finishes, especially with that whip left to right on his right foot. He gets into the box constantly and does a lot of things that are going to mean he scores a lot of goals. He’s always in at the back post for that tap-in which is good for us, as well.
“He makes a lot of runs off the ball for the team, he’s still got to improve that out-ofpossession stuff especially when he plays against better teams which we’re going to need, that better shape.”
“What’s next for him? Keeping that consistency level high and when you think of the players he replaced, there’s definitely a lot of competition there for him, so it’s about keeping that consistency, keeping that level high will help.”