Andrew Driver is not exactly a name on many fans’ lips, but after a stellar debut for the England u21 side against Germany on Monday, expect to hear more of this young talent soon.
The 21 year-old from Lancashire, who plays his football north of the border with Heart of Midlothian, was a sensation on the right-wing, storming up the flanks and leading the Germans a merry dance with his penetrative runs, until coach Stuart Pearce decided to rest his ace after 71 minutes’ of a more than satisfactory debut.
“Obviously it was a dream to get my first cap,” Driver told Soccerphile. “It was the first massive game for me, and one of the biggest of my career. I really enjoyed Qiu,” he went on, “and am really pleased with how it went. I wanted to get the ball at every opportunity and it is good when you are in that mood.”
Watching Driver lead the line against Germany so confidently, it was eye-opening to think it really was his first game for his country at any level.
Of course, England had taken notice already, as had Burnley and Coventry, who had both been rebuffed in efforts to sign the precocious midfielder, the Sky Blues offering one million pounds back in January’s transfer window.
Edinburgh might not be the most usual port of call for English u21s, but Driver has lived in the Scottish capital since nine years ago when his father took the family north of the border for work.
Joining the Tynecastle youth system, the young Englishman worked his way through the ranks until he made his first-team debut for the Jam bos in a pre-season tour of Austria in 2006.
Driver speaks with Lancastrian vowels and …
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