Ex-Bristol City defender named in England’s 55-man World Cup squad

Webster was only at Bristol City for one season but made a big impression
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Former Bristol City defender Adam Webster could be a part of the World Cup in Qatar this month. The Brighton & Hove Albion man has reportedly been included in the expanded preliminary 55-man squad that was submitted to FIFA.

The list has not been made public but it is being reported by the Evening Standard that Webster is one of several players that is pushing for a place at international football’s showpiece event. Webster will have to beat off competition from other centre-backs to avoid being one of the 29 players that face disappointment.

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Gareth Southgate is expected to announce his squad on Thursday, November 10. FIFA’s deadline is on Sunday, November 13 which is the final round of Premier League fixtures and a week away from the first match which is Qatar versus Ecuador.

Webster plays in a three-man defence for his club which is a similar system as to what Southgate adopts for the the EURO 2020 finalists. At 27-years-old, he has yet to be included in a senior Three Lions squad but now he could be a wildcard for the tournament.

The Chichester-born defender has not looked back since joining Brighton for a reported £20m which is a record fee for a Championship defender. Webster played 47 times for City in the 2018/19 season and kept 12 clean sheets as Lee Johnson’s side finished eighth.

Since his departure for Brighton, he has played regularly for the Sussex side and has racked up over 100 appearances for the Seagulls. He had been subject of interest from Chelsea this summer but remained at the AMEX Stadium. A call-up to the England squad for the World Cup would make him a more attractive propisition for any potential buyers which would be good news for City. In February, Bristol Live said that City had a sell-on-fee which could range between 10 and 20 percent.

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Other former players in line to play at the World Cup include two players from their academy; Joe Morrell and Wes Burns. Both players are Wales internationals and stand a good chance of representing the Red Dragons at their first World Cup since 1958. Morrell has made several squads and has 30 caps to his name and would be expected to be a part of the squad. Burns meanwhile has been on the periphery after making a break through at Ipswich Town.

As far as City's current crop goes, they are likely to be represented by one player. Antoine Semenyo, who switched to Ghana earlier this year, has been in their last few squads and was a substitute in their warm-up matches for the World Cup. He could be joined by Jojo Wollacott, who was at the academy at City for a decade but didn’t make an appearance. Wollacott was Ghana’s first choice goalkeeper at the Africa Cup of Nations.

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