West Ham United defender Anouk Denton has been drafted into the England senior squad.
England head coach Sarina Wiegman confirmed the news in an official media conference earlier this morning.
The 22-year-old centre-back has been promoted into the senior group after impressing at Under-23s level. Denton is yet to make a senior appearance for England but she has represented The Young Lionesses at various youth levels.
Denton’s promotion to the England senior squad will allow head coach Wiegman to make an assessment of her qualities at a time when the Lionesses are short of defensive competition. Long-serving centre-back Millie Bright announced her retirement from international football earlier this month while defensive pair Katie Reid and Lotte Wubben-Moy pulled out of the squad last week through illness and injury.
England opened their four-game ‘Homecoming Series’ with a 2-1 defeat to Brazil in Manchester on Saturday evening. The Lionesses found themselves 2-0 down inside 20 minutes at the City of Manchester Stadium and failed to recover despite the sending-off of Brazilian captain Angelina soon after the game’s opening goals.
England are back in action when they face Australia at Pride Park in Derby tomorrow night. Head coach Wiegman is expected to test new combinations within her starting XI in the East Midlands.