Brentford manager Thomas Frank believes left-back Rico Henry should be on Gareth Southgate’s England radar.
The 24-year-old has been one of the standout players during Frank’s Brentford reign, placing in last season’s PFA Championship Team of the Year as the Bees secured promotion to the Premier League.
The attacking left-back has settled into life seamlessly in the English top flight, taking to Premier League football like a duck to water, in which he has started every single game for the club this campaign.
Rico has only actually missed 49 minutes of action in 2021/22, coming off as a late substitute in the 2-0 win over Wolves and the 1-0 win over Everton, with those results placing the club 13th in the table.
It has been a stellar debut campaign in the Premier League for Brentford so far, with Frank’s men pulling off some memorable results, including a 3-3 draw with Liverpool, a 2-1 away win over high-flying West Ham, a curtain-raising triumph over Arsenal, and those aforementioned victories over Wolves and Everton.
Rico has been integral to that success as part of Frank’s well-choreographed wing-back system, so much so that the club’s Danish tactician believes England manager Southgate should be keeping a close eye on events at the Brentford Community Stadium.
Frank told Sky Sports: “Rico has done fantastic so far in the Premier League. He had a little bit of a slow start, the first two to five games, but then I thought he really got up to pace.
“He also had a little bit of a staggered pre-season, so he’s in a really good place. He’s developing every single day and I’m pretty sure Gareth Southgate is very aware of Rico Henry.”
Purchased from Walsall for £1.5m in 2016, Rico has gone from strength to strength since trading the West Midlands for London, and he has previously represented the Three Lions at U19 and U20 level.