Hell For Bell With Reggae Boy Set To Chase New Club In Japan
Amari’i Bell, one of ten England-born and -based players called up by Jamaica, will be aiming to impress in next month’s trio of international friendlies as the left back seeks a new club.
The 27-year-old defender’s deal with English Championship side Blackburn Rovers ends on 30 June, having made 96 appearances since he joined the club from Fleetwood Town in January 2018.
Bell was one of six debutants in March’s 4-1 thrashing by the United States when head coach Theodore Whitmore had his usual familiar faces missing, due to a long-term dispute with the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) over contracts. The JFF announced 30 players for the whistlestop tour of Japan, where the Reggae Boyz will tackle Japan (3 June), Serbia (7 June) and Japan’s U23 Olympic Team (12 June) ahead of July’s CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Whitmore reiterated: “We welcome the matches against Japan and Serbia, these are important games to fine-tune preparations for the Gold Cup.
“We anticipate a very competitive roster. Each player, domestic and foreign-based, must use every available opportunity to perform and press their case for selection.
“We need each player to challenge himself and take responsibility, to be accountable on and off the pitch for performance and conduct.
Bell desperately needs minutes in Japan to attract the attention of scouts and to seal a place in the squad for the Gold Cup, where Jamaica have been strong in recent years. The Boyz finished runner-up in the 2015 and 2017 Gold Cup tournaments, but suffered a 3-1 semi-final defeat to the US in the 2019 edition.
Yet Whitmore, in the heart of midfield for Jamaica’s one and only FIFA World Cup finals appearance in 1998, will be more concerned about qualifying for Qatar 2022 than the Gold Cup showing. The Boyz have failed in their past five World Cup qualifying campaigns despite becoming an ever-increasing force in the CONCACAF region, and will kick-off their latest bid in September.
Whitmore added: “This is an important year for the Reggae Boyz. We have spent the last three years looking, moulding and preparing. The standards and expectations are high, now is the time to deliver.”
Bell, who is equally at ease as a left midfielder, will want a shot at competing at the showpiece tournament in the Far East although finding a club is his priority.
Other English-born players are still being chased by the JFF, with key target Michail Antonio having pledged to play for Jamaica. The West Ham United striker has taken the steps to obtaining his passport in order to represent the Boyz, but there have reportedly been some hiccups with the processing.
There are more top-class English stars, who ply their trade in the English Premier League and are eligible to represent Jamaica. Those who remain on the radar of the JFF are Newcastle United’s Issac Hayden, Everton’s Mason Holgate, Southampton’s Nathan Redmond and Brentford’s Ivan Toney.
POTENTIAL REGGAE BOYZ
Michail Antonio | West Ham United
The burly 31-year-old striker, born in London, only played a handful of matches for non-league Tooting & Mitcham United before Championship outfit Reading signed him in 2008.
But he made just 28 appearances in four seasons, endlessly loaned out, leaving for Sheffield Wednesday where he impressed in his first campaign but was hit by injury for the second season.
A £1.5m deal with Nottingham Forest followed in 2014, where he bagged 16 goals to land a £7m contract with West Ham United just 12 months later.
He turned down a 2016 approach from the JFF to represent Jamaica, and was an unused substitute for England in a World Cup qualifier that year. In 2017 he withdrew, because of injury, from the England squad for friendlies against Germany and Lithuania.
Issac Hayden | Newcastle United
The 26-year-old midfielder, who has represented England at U16, U17, U18, U19, U20 and U21 level, was born in Chelmsford to an English father and a Jamaican mother.
Just two appearances in three seasons with Arsenal came to an end when he penned a five-year deal with Newcastle United in 2016, where he has clocked up over 100 appearances.
Mason Holgate | Everton
The 24-year-old centre back, who has represented England at U20 and U21 level, was born in Doncaster.
After being on loan at West Bromwich Albion, where he played under manager and former Reggae Boy Darren Moore, he returned to Everton.
Nathan Redmond | Southampton
The 27-year-old striker/winger is of Irish and Jamaican descent but represents England, having made his debut as a substitute against Germany in 2017 and was in the 27-player provisional squad to tackle the most recent UEFA Nations League finals.
However, as he was only capped in a friendly rather than a competitive match then he is not tied to the English Football Association, so he can apply to represent Jamaica.
Ivan Toney | Brentford
The 24-year-old striker, who signed for his home-town club Northampton Town in 2012, spent three seasons with Newcastle United but made just two appearances as he was loaned out most of the time.
Two prolific seasons with Peterborough United alerted him to Brentford, who paid £5m for his services on a five-deal deal in August 2020. He broke the Championship scoring record with 31 goals this term and is being scouted by leading Premier League sides including Arsenal, Everton and Leicester City.
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