Alfie Mawson: Swansea defender admits England call-up a surprise to many
- Published
Alfie Mawson duels for a header with Dele Alli during England training
International friendly: Netherlands v England |
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Venue: Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam Date: Friday, 23 March Time: 19:45 GMT |
Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live, online, tablets, mobiles and BBC Sport app. Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website. |
Swansea defender Alfie Mawson says many people would not have heard of him until he received a first England call-up from Gareth Southgate.
The 24-year-old is in the England squad for their forthcoming friendlies with Italy and the Netherlands after an impressive season with Swansea.
He has been an integral part of the Swans revival under Carlos Carvalhal.
"A lot of people are probably thinking how on earth has he got this call up?" said Mawson.
"It was more of a shock to me than most. When you look at some of the players that missed out, it's crazy."
The centre-back made his professional debut with Brentford in 2013 and spent time on loan at non-league Maidenhead United and Welling United before a move to Barnsley in 2015, where he helped the club win promotion to the Championship.
He arrived at the Liberty stadium in a deal worth £5.5m in August 2016 and has scored six goals in 57 Premier League appearances to date, including the winner against Liverpool in January.
"A lot of people wouldn't have even heard my name until this call up," Mawson told BBC Sport.
"You know it's down to performing well at certain times, it's down to doing the right things and sometimes it's down to being a nice person."
Mawson, who has represented England Under-21s, says it is "humbling" to be in the senior squad and winning a first cap would be the "cherry on the icing this year".
"I used to say things like 'this doesn't happen to people like myself,' but clearly sometimes they can and I'm just very grateful to be here.
"For me to say that I could possibly get an England cap in my career, a lot of people can't say that."
He added: "I'm going to take whatever I can from here into my club football and when I'm back at Swansea hopefully I can be a leader more so because I've seen some of the leaders here."
Mawson also revealed that his usual Sunday routine was spending the morning at a car boot sales with his girlfriend.
But he added: "We are in a good position now where we don't really have to do the car boots unless she wants a bit of excitement on a Sunday morning."
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