Manchester United defender Ayden Heaven has decided he will not switch international allegiance from England to Ghana ahead of next summer’s World Cup.
The 19-year-old, who was born in London and qualifies for Ghana through a grandparent, has been on the radar of the Ghana Football Association in recent months. Ghana have been drawn in a tough World Cup group alongside England, Croatia and Panama for the tournament set to be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
However, sources close to the situation have told BBC Sport that Heaven remains committed to representing England at senior level. The young centre-back has already featured for England at various youth levels and sees his long-term future with the Three Lions.
Heaven joined Manchester United from Arsenal in February after making a single senior appearance for the Gunners. Since then, his development has accelerated quickly at Old Trafford.
Although he suffered an ankle injury while playing for England’s Under-20s against Switzerland in October — forcing him off at half-time and ruling him out of the following match against Japan — he has bounced back strongly.
The defender made two substitute appearances in the Premier League before earning his first start against West Ham on December 4, operating in a back three. While he picked up an early booking and was withdrawn at half-time, his performances have steadily improved since.
He impressed despite United’s 2–1 defeat at Aston Villa on December 21 and was outstanding in the 1–0 victory over Newcastle, where the Red Devils kept just their second clean sheet of the season. Heaven was named man of the match for his display.
United boss Ruben Amorim praised the young defender’s progress, saying:
“I’m really pleased with Ayden. You can feel he’s improving every game. He’s young, but he reads the game well, grows into matches, and keeps getting better. If he continues like this, it will be very difficult to take his place.”
