The EDS goalkeeper has represented the Three Lions at u19 level before, but has now earned the step up to Gareth Southgate’s squad for the games against USA u23s and Norway u21s, with the manager keen to introduce a fresh set of faces ahead of the European Qualifying campaign.
Gunn told mcfc.co.uk: “It was a really proud moment for me – I’m absolutely buzzing. I actually got the call the other day, but I had to keep it quiet for a few days, but now I can share the news and I’m really happy.
“I told my Dad, my Mum and then my girlfriend, and they are all really happy for me. Hopefully I can carry on making them proud.”
It’s the first time for a number of years that a City Academy product has been named in the England u21s squad.
Three City youngsters have been called up to represent the Three Lions’ U20 side though - Ashley Smith-Brown, Kean Bryan and Brandon Barker. Marcus Wood and Will Patching are in the U18s team with Cameron Humphreys, Demeaco Duhaney, Isaac Buckley-Ricketts and Lukas Nmecha on stand-by.
As development continues apace in the world-class surroundings of the City Football Academy, the young stopper believes supporters shouldn’t have long to wait for another England u21 call-up.
He said: “Being the first City Academy player called up for a while probably does make it a bit more special.
“But we’ve got a lot of really talented England lads in the Academy now, so hopefully after I’ve got this call-up the likes of Brandon, Ash and Kean won’t be far behind. It’s a good time for the English lads in the Academy at the moment and there’s a lot of good players.”
Angus is also eligible for Scotland, and Dad Bryan was a full Scottish international keeper, but the younger Gunn doesn’t hesitate when asked if there is any temptation to switch allegiances.
“Not at the moment!” he laughed. “I’ve been brought up and lived in England, so I’m definitely English for the moment.”
Meanwhile, Bersant Celina has been chosen to represent Kosovo and Norway U21s, Billy O’Brien has been named in Wales’ U21 squad, Kjetil Haug has been selected for Norway U18s and Rodney Kongolo has been called up to the Holland U18s team.
It is consistent excellence for club that has brought international recognition, and Gunn is in contention to start for City on Wednesday night when Sunderland visit the Academy Stadium in the International Premier League Cup.
City are seeking to defend the trophy they won in such thrilling style last season, but the stopper has his eye set on multiple trophy successes in Patrick Vieira’s third year in charge of the EDS.
“Last season it was the first competition we won together as a squad, so it’s an important competition for us to do well in and we’d like to give a good showing in defending the trophy,” declared the 19-year-old.
“However, we’re in a few other competitions as well this season and we’d like to add more to the collection. I think the target has to be to win more than one trophy. That starts with a win against Sunderland, and then hopefully we can go on and do well in the Lancashire Senior Cup and league as well.”
Vieira’s men have begun the season with three consecutive draws, two in the league and one in the opening game of this competition against Borussia Monchengladbach.
While Angus is keen to point to the positives of the unbeaten streak, he is hoping Wednesday’s clash with the Black Cats can bring the first win of the campaign.
He revealed: “We’ve been taking the positives from the games and the messages from Patrick. Obviously we haven’t been losing, which is a positive and we’ve stayed unbeaten in the games so far.
“However, I know we’d all like to get a win under our belts in the next few games and that will help us going forward. In a way, you can say it’s more important to get the wins in the cup competitions, but I know we’d like to convert the draws into wins in the league as well, because that’s another competition we’d like to do really well in.”
