Crossword Genius

Former England forward who might mean nothing to a new back? (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

owen

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'former england forward who might' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'nothing to a new back?' is the wordplay.
'nothing' becomes 'O' (O resembles 0).
'back?' says the letters should be written backwards (I've seen 'backed' mean this).
'new' in reverse letter order is 'wen'.
'o'+'wen'='OWEN'

'mean' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for owen that I've seen before include "Welsh boy's name" , "Welsh industrialist and social reformer, founder of cooperative communities, d. 1858" , "Wilfred -, English poet killed in World War One" , "Wilfred - - , WWI poet" , "Former SDP leader" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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