With the World Cup now little over 11 months away, and with England looking almost nailed-on to make the finals in South Africa, coach Fabio Capello is sure to already be strategizing which players would make up his 23 man squad.
At this stage we probably know, barring injuries and David Bentley-esque losses of form, the names of 15 or 16 of those players, with the other seven or eight spots likely to be filled by other capped players who have been in and around the squad over the past two years.
But can any exciting youngsters break through and be to 2010 what Theo Walcott and Aaron Lennon were to 2006? We look at five of England’s most promising youngsters and see if any could make the step up quickly enough.
James Tomkins
Age: 20
Club: West Ham
Position: Centre back
Centre back may not be a position that England are particularly short-staffed in, but you can never have too many of a good thing, right?
Tomkins has already been a star for England at under-19 and under-20 level, and made the step up to the under-21s for this summer’s European Championships and has been compared in style to West Ham Academy predecessor Rio Ferdinand.
A composed ball-playing centre back that is strong in the air and displays impressive positional sense and reading of the game considering his tender age, Tomkins has been a revelation since becoming a first-team regular at Upton Park over the past 18 months.
His presence and calmness in possession really shone through over the last couple of months of 2008/09, as an injury depleted West Ham side finished a respectable 9th in the Premier League.
Injuries would probably represent Tomkins best chance of making the final 23 for South Africa this time next year, but don’t be surprised to see him croup up in the senior fold at some point over the next twelve months.
World Cup chances: 3/5
Daniel Sturridge
Age: 19
Club: Manchester City (move to
Chelsea pending tribunal)
Position: Striker
Sturridge impressed in his occasional appearances in City’s first team over the past two seasons, but City’s spending meant
Sturridge was getting fewer and fewer chances to prove himself, and he ultimately opted to reject City’s offer of a new deal in favour of a fresh start elsewhere.
That elsewhere looks like being Stamford Bridge, with a tribunal set to declare the fee Chelsea will pay for the 19 year old England U20 star.
Quite whether Sturrdige will see more first team action at Chelsea over the coming years than he would have at City will only become clear in time, but with Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba standing ahead of him in the pecking order, it could well be that he’ll have to settle for a fringe role and bide his time.
Sturridge has shown flashes of real quality in terms of finishing and link-up play, both with City and England’s youth sides. The likelihood is that he won’t be a first team regular in the coming season and that will clearly hinder any World Cup hopes, although England are noticeably light in the forward department.
World Cup chances: 2/5
Kieran Gibbs
Age: 19
Club: Arsenal
Position: Left back/ left midfielder/central midfielder
Gibbs broke into the Arsenal first time in the absence through injury of left back Gael Clichy in the final months of last season and, despite the costly slip which allowed Park Ji-Sung to score in the Champions League semi-final – he hasn’t looked out of place one iota.
Clichy’s return to fitness will most probably see Gibbs’ opportunities on the left of the back four be restricted, but fortunately for the 19 year old, he can also fill in on the left of midfield or in the centre of the park.
This kind of versatility could well be useful in a 23 man squad, particularly in England’s case, given their historic lack of let-sided players. If he continues to develop at the rate he has over the past 12 months over the next 12 – he may well have a chance of sneaking a place.
World Cup chances: 3/5
Lee Cattermole
Age: 21
Club: Wigan Athletic
Position: Defensive midfielder
Anybody who’s middle name is Barry and is related to a former member of S Club 7 is more than worthy of acclamation in our book, but when that somebody is also quite possibly the most underrated of England’s young stars, we feel honour bound to sing his praises.
Cattermole is a midfield rock and an expert in breaking up play, as well as ruffling the feathers of the opposition. One of the stars of what was a very good season for Wigan Athletic, it’s unlikely to be a coincidence that
Middlesbrough were rather limply relegated just nine months after the Stockton-born scrapper left the North East side.
Playing alongside Bolton’s Fabrice Muamba in the centre of Stuart Pearce’s midfield – Cattermole was one of England’s best performers this summer, and his form for Wigan has already seen him linked with a move to
Tottenham, where he would expect to team up again with former partner in crime Wilson Palacios.
Probably an outside bet but with Owen Hargreaves beset by injuries, England lack a really destructive defensive midfielder, and the 21 year old certainly wouldn’t shirk any challenge put in front of him.
World Cup chances: 2/5
Joe Hart
Age: 21
Club: Birmingham City (on loan from Man City)
Position: Goalkeeper
The only of our five to have already represented England at senior level, in last summer’s friendly against Trinidad and Tobago –
Hart has moved to Birmingham City on loan for the coming season in order to once again play regular first team football, presumably with one eye on securing a berth in Capello’s travelling party to South Africa.
David James is the current incumbent of the England No. 1 jersey, but didn’t hit the same heights in 2008/09 as he had done in his first two seasons on the south coast, a continuation of that downturn may well force Capello to look elsewhere, with the likes of Robert Green, Paul Robinson and Chris Kirkland likely to join Hart in the frame.
Hart performed well in the penalty shoot-out in last week’s European Championship semi-final win over Sweden, and we all know how poor the senior team’s record in that situation is. A good season at St Andrews and Hart should be going to South Africa, a very good one and he could be going as England’s No. 1.
World Cup chances: 4/5