Wiegman hopes to see consistency from omitted Manchester United forward Parris | OneFootball

England head coach Sarina Wiegman says that she hopes that Manchester United forward Nikita Parris continues her good form at club level.

The 29-year-old has scored seven goals since the season resumed after the winter break but her red-hot goalscoring form was not enough to earn her an England recall for the February camp.

England head coach Wiegman announced her 23-player squad this morning with Parris not being included. Speaking to the media after the announcement, Wiegman indicated that Parris is on the national team’s radar, however, she wants to keep seeing the player perform at her highest level before offering a recall.

“The competition upfront is really high and in autumn, she didn’t play that much,” Wiegman said. “Because of the competition, we made other decisions.

“Since the New Year, she has played in the nine position and has done well and of course, we have noticed that too. I had a little chat with her and I hope she shows consistency because we are talking about her again.

“I made other choices for this camp with the players that we have and they have done really well too, so it was a hard decision.”

England are in a fortunate position where there is competition for places right across the forward line. Wiegman said that it was not possible to include every in-form attacking player in her squad and that she has explained the current position to Parris.

She said “I had a couple of conversations with her back in autumn but it was a different situation. I had a short conversation with her yesterday and I explained a little bit, that’s now just the way it is.

“I think we are in a luxurious position where we have many players upfront, not only in the nine position but also on the wing. It is so competitive that I have to make hard choices and some players that are playing well, I need to keep out.

“She’s available and she knows that we are watching her very closely.”

The England squad will come together next week when they travel to Spain for some warm weather training. The Lionesses will face Austria and Italy in international friendlies in the upcoming window.