Exclusive: Benik Afobe promoted to England u-17s for Algarve Tournament opener

Arsenal striker Benik Afobe has been rewarded for his efforts in the 2008 Victory Shield with a call-up to the England u-17 squad for their Algarve Tournament opener against Portugal.

Dagenham-born forward Benik notched four goals in three games at the Three Lions won the prestigious shield for
the eigth successive time.

His performances have not gone un-noticed and now u-17s coach John Peacock has handed the prolific attacker a place on the plane for the trip to Portugal.

The match is the first of three matches that England will play in the competition, with further fixtures scheduled against France and Israel.

The Portugal match will take place on February 21st, in sunny Lagoa with the France match taking place a day later in the same arena.

The full squad is yet to be announced but it is thought that Luke Freeman and Emmanuel Frimpong will also be included in the travelling party.

In other news, left-back Rene Steer has joined Gillingham on an initial one-m0nth loan after impressing for their Reserves against Brighton on Wednesday. Manager Mark Stimson said

“Rene is a young player with tremendous pace, he is very comfortable on the ball as you would expect from someone that has spent six years at Arsenal”

It is thought that, if all goes well, Rene will sign for Gillingham permanently when his Arsenal contract expires in the summer.

Murphy out for weeks, not months as Wilshere is called up to England U19s

Arsenal striker Rhys Murphy could be back in action in a matter of weeks after it was revealed that the injury he sustained in the FA Youth Cup win over Wolves last Tuesday was not as bad as first feared.

At first there were murmurs that he has broken his leg but thankfully that was not the case. Then there were claims that it was an ankle problem but the truth of the matter is that Rhys has broken one of the bones in his shin and will be out of action for four to six weeks.

Under-18s coach Steve Bould declared his disappointment, saying that Rhys had been impressing in training prior to his injury, whilst team-mate Henri Lansbury saw the funny side of matters saying that it was quite funny to see his England u-19 international colleague hobbling around London Colney on crutches.

There was further good news on the injury front when it was revealed that Francis Coquelin’s ankle problem, picked up against Stoke on Wednesday, is unlikely to keep him out of action for very long and he could even return for the FA Youth Cup Fifth Round clash with Sunderland a week today.

On the international front, Jack Wilshere has been promoted to the England u-19s squad for their friendly with Spain next month. Jack joins Henri Lansbury and Gavin Hoyte in the squad for the game which will take place at Bournemouth’s Fitness First arena one day before the two nations go head-to-head at senior level.