Sarina Wiegman identifies ‘many leaders’ in Lionesses squad as Leah Williamson decision looms

Sarina Wiegman has admitted the England captaincy is yet to be decided, with several potential candidates for the role.

The Lionesses manager named her latest squad ahead of their upcoming friendlies against Austria and Italy, with Leah Williamson set to make her long-awaited comeback after an ACL injury.

However Wiegman revealed that despite Williamson being named permanent captain in 2022, her return from injury does not confirm that she will resume her role as skipper.

Vice-captain Millie Bright had led the side in the Arsenal defender's absence during the 2023 World Cup, but since suffering a knee issue of her own in November, the Lionesses' leadership has been rotated more recently.

Mary Earps wore the armband in England's most recent fixtures against the Netherlands and Scotland, while Alex Greenwood and Lucy Bronze have also previously taken on the responsibility.

Speaking to talkSPORT, the women's team boss explained that she would be holding discussions with senior players in the group before reaching a final decision on the captaincy.

When asked if Williamson was still her preferred choice as captain, Wiegman answered: "I haven’t talked with the captains' group yet because we haven’t seen each other."

She continued: "When we come to camp we will revisit that and have a conversation about that. So this is not the moment yet to talk about it."

The two-time Euro-winning manager went on to hail the presence of 'many leaders' in the Lionesses' dressing room, which has prompted her to first address the subject with her squad.

The 54-year-old said: "I think we have many leaders in this team and players are stepping up too, so that’s also why we need to have the conversation.

"Because I think it’s not just Leah and Millie. Lucy Bronze has a great role in the team, very important. Mary [Earps] has [a great role]." 

She added: "And then players that you don’t see that much, but in the group they have a great role. 

"Like leadership is not being visible all the time. It’s so much more than that, and that’s why I want to talk to them first."

As well as having to settle the issue of captaincy, Wiegman must also use the warm-weather training camp to evaluate her most recent squad selection, with Nikita Parris a notable omission.

The Manchester United forward was left out of the Lionesses' historic World Cup campaign in Australia and New Zealand, and has not received an international call up since September 2022.

Parris has been in fine form for her club side this season, netting eight goals in 12 WSL appearances, but Wiegman explained that the had spoken with 29-year-old about what she must do to be considered for selection again.

The Dutch coach said: "We have had conversations with her, a couple that she didn’t play that much. Then she came back, in the No.9 position, she won her starting position.

"And yes we see she’s doing really well, and what I want to see is consistency."

She also pointed to the stiff competition for places across the forward-line as a reason for Parris' exclusion: "And of course that competition up front.

"Not only in the No.9 position because she plays in the nine now, but also on the wings. There's just huge competition in this team."

Wiegman continued: "And we’ve seen too in December that we played Lauren Hemp also at No.9, and we have other names who are in the squad too.

‘So it’s hard to make a decision, but, yes, I have to make decisions because I'm not going to bring in like five centre-forwards in the squad.

Despite this, she appeared to leave the door open for Parris' return, saying: "So at this moment, it’s this team, and they all have to show consistency after this, and then we’ll take it from there."