An England colleague has revealed Lewis Dunk could step up for free-kicks at Euro 2024.
The Albion skipper is preparing for the Three Lions’ opening fixture against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen tomorrow.
Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford revealed centre-back John Stones trained yesterday after injury and illness scares.
But Dunk is a contender to feature as he enjoys his first international tournament.
The defender has stepped up to shoot from free-kicks at times for his club and he appears to have impressed in that area at training.
Ollie Watkins told the FA’s Lions’ Den Connected feature: “He’s on free-kicks, to be fair! He has got the technique. He has got a little flipper!”
Dunk enjoyed a day at home in Sussex last weekend before heading to Germany for the tournament. He said: “It gets to that stage where you are ready to go.
“We have had long training sessions leading up to it and now it’s go time. We can’t wait for it.”
Pickford believes a clean sheet is the first target against Serbia, no matter who plays at the back.
He said: “Clean sheets are key. To get to a final, to win a tournament you have got to have a good clean sheet record. Or as Margs (Martyn Margetson), the goalkeeping coach says, ‘zeros and ones gets you so far’.
“For us, it’s about getting as many clean sheets as we can because everybody in the room knows the ability we have up top.
“The most important thing for us is to win the first game, get out of the group, game by game focus on each game as it comes because you can’t look too far ahead.”
Dunk will have a new boss in charge by the time he returns to club duty with Albion moving closer to announcing Fabian Huerzeler as head coach.
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