“Jude was a big person for me. He took me under his wing,” Joshua King said after earning his first senior England call-up on Friday. The Fulham teenager had already been around the senior setup in the pre-World Cup training camp in Florida in June, and he says that experience left a mark before this latest step.
Bellingham and Kane helped him settle
King said the support inside camp mattered just as much as the selection itself. “There were a lot of people I learned from [in the pre-World Cup camp]. Jude was a big person for me. He took me under his wing and tried to make me feel welcome,” he told standard.co.uk. “Harry Kane as well, he was one person who really made me feel welcome and tried to help me through my time there.”
That trip to Florida was not just a brief taste of the level. King told the independent.co.uk it was “an amazing opportunity” and said it “gave me the confidence to start this season well.” He has already made 10 Premier League appearances for Fulham this season, played 813 minutes, and holds a 6.81 average rating across the league campaign.
Tuchel's options for this month
Thomas Tuchel has described King as one of his options on the right wing this month, and the player himself sounds ready to fit wherever needed. “I'm happy to play anywhere for the manager,” he told the independent.co.uk. “I have to add other parts to my game, in wider positions you might have to cover defensively or make runs in behind.”
That versatility is part of why the call-up makes sense. King is only 19, but he has already been trusted with meaningful league minutes at Fulham this season, and he said he is capable of playing “lots of different positions”. England's upcoming Nations League matches are against Croatia on Thursday and Spain on Sunday, giving him an immediate chance to turn the first call-up into something more.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →
