New England star Josh King played different sport that 'you wouldn't expect' after joining Fulham

Fulham midfielder Josh King has earned his first senior England call-up for upcoming Nations League matches against Spain and Croatia, but it wasn't until he reached high school age that he fully committed to football.

King, 19, has enjoyed a superb start to the season for Alvaro Arbeloa's Cottagers, scoring twice and providing two assists in 11 Premier League appearances.

The midfielder was part of England's under-21 squad during the most recent international break, with Thomas Tuchel describing him as a 'fantastic player' and highlighting his versatility in his media conference on Friday morning. It turns out that King's versatility stretches beyond football.

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'Probably you wouldn't expect...' - Josh King played second sport alongside football

During an interview with Sky Sports in October 2025, King revealed that, after signing for Fulham at a young age, he also played rugby union as a youngster.

King explained that he was deployed as a fly-half, which is the first player to receive a ball from a scrum but also must possess strong kicking skills - which is where the Fulham star would have fit the bill perfectly.

"I used to play a bit of rugby, which you would probably be surprised about," King said. "Because of my stature, I'm not the one you would probably expect to play rugby. But yeah, I used to play rugby, fly-half, I used to dabble a bit in that, which was good.

"Other than that, it's mainly been football. I made a decision when I was about 10 or 11 to pursue it, but I feel like up until the age of 14 or 15, I was really just doing it for the enjoyment. And I still am, but it was all just, go and enjoy myself, play, spend time with my friends. And I think that probably helped me progress to where I am today."

"In my own age group, there's a lot of people who are still here, who were here when they were about 10 or 11," he continued. "I think six or seven of the same people are here. We've obviously become really good friends over time, and I feel like that's really nice to have those players here still while making new friends in the first team."

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'A special moment...' - Alvaro Arbeloa reacts to Josh King England call-up

Tuchel revealed in his press conference that King would serve as 'the extra player in training' as one of 22 outfield players, but the German also spoke positively about his attitude and personality - something he thinks very highly of when choosing whether to give players England caps.

And King's Fulham head coach Arbeloa believes he can do just that.

"I think it's a special moment for him, for us as a club, and our supporters," the Spaniard told reporters after the news was announced on Friday. "He's the pride of our club, our supporters. He came to this club when he was eight years old, and now, when you look at him, how he's playing and performing, we are really proud of him.

"I'm so happy for him, because he's a very humble kid and you can see every day that he wants to improve, wants to work, wants to become a better player every day. So it's a special day for him and for all of us.

"He's obviously a very talented player. He can receive deep in the lines, where there is no space. He can turn, he can run, he can dribble with the ball. We are working with him on his finishing - he needs to improve that. That's the most difficult thing in football, scoring goals. But his mentality, his character... he's a very mature player. You can forget that he's just 19 years old, so it's unbelievable how he's performing. I think he has everything to become one of the best players in the world."