After England’s 2-2 draw with Spain last Tuesday night, most Three Lions fans were left asking questions about the team’s ability to see games through or kill teams off.
Fans may also be pondering which, if any, players have the ability to manage and control things in the middle of the pitch .
In recent performances, England have struggled to impress with their range of passing. When you’re left relying on Eric Dier and Jack Wilshere to supply the passes that will spilt teams apart it is worrying to say the least.
When playing for their clubs, both players are specialists at sitting in front of their defence and allowing other attacking players to take control of creative duties, however at international level, this burden somehow falls to them.
Jonjo Shelvey has proved time and time again that he is more than capable of providing the ammunition to feed teammates, putting in star performances for Newcastle week after week to push the Magpies to the summit of the Championship table.
The former Swansea midfielder’s expansive style of play could benefit the likes of Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge, with his stunning, precision balls over the top of defences causing all sorts of problems and laying on countless opportunities for teammate and Championship top scorer Dwight Gayle so far this season.
Unfortunately for Shelvey, when it comes to team selection, England have shown that they pick names based upon which club they play for rather than their individual form. When we look to compare the stats of current England international Jack Wilshere to those of Shelvey, it shows a clear difference in performance.
This season, Jonjo has completed a total of 1269 minutes in all competitions, picking up an impressive 3 goals and 4 assists on the way. On the other hand, Wilshere has picked up only 594 minutes and 0 goals and 0 assists, albeit at a much higher level, however, Shelvey has shown in the past that he can cut the mustard in the top flight.
Another name that has been discussed in the England picture is Jamaal Lascelles. In my opinion, Lascelles should most definitely be called up to the England senior squad in the future because he has superb leadership qualities and his defending this season has been impeccable.
With Rooney seemingly on the way out, the long-term future of the England captaincy is relatively unclear and young, hungry and ambitious players such as Lascelles now have a real opportunity to stake their claim for the armband, should they be selected by Southgate and given the opportunity to showcase their talents
Lascelles will hopefully gain more Premier League experience next season, should Newcastle gain promotion, which will improve his all around game and iron out the few mistakes he makes, strengthening his already burgeoning credentials as a future national team mainstay.
If both players keep up their hard work and impressive performances for the Magpies, they have a good chance of being called up between now and the end of the season, and, on current form, few would argue that it was undeserved.