Cozier-Duberry earns first England Under-21 call-up

Amario Cozier-Duberry has received his first call-up to the England under-21 squad after an encouraging start to the season at Middlesbrough, where he joined on loan from Brighton.

The Young Lions open their European Championship qualifying campaign against Kazakhstan on Friday at Molineux.

Cozier-Duberry spent pre-season with Brighton before moving to Middlesbrough, having helped Bolton win promotion to the Championship last term. He has already registered three goal involvements for Boro, including his first goal for the club against Norwich City earlier this month.

The winger spoke positively about his time at Brighton. "I enjoyed the pre-season there," he said. "You're playing with the top, top players, so you're only going to improve."

Despite that, Cozier-Duberry acknowledged the importance of regular minutes. "It was definitely a tough one. I did want to stay, but I just thought to myself I could go out and get consistent minutes," he said.

"For me, it's just being true to myself and trying to go somewhere where I'll play and feel like I can contribute and be of value to the team. Not just being a number, going places where hopefully I can just keep excelling."

Middlesbrough's style of play was a key factor in his decision. "The style of play I think just suits me, and it's a big club with a big history as well, so it was quite an easy decision to make to go to Boro."

Cozier-Duberry's long-term ambition remains a return to Brighton and a place in the Premier League. "That's the main goal. Just to be playing in the Premier League and achieve something," he added.

Cozier-Duberry is one of 15 Brighton players away on international duty during the current three-week break. Babis Kostoulas was also promoted to Greece's senior squad after scoring in each of Albion's last three matches.