Liverpool pair in top six, Man Utd player at 30) – ranking England chances of uncapped PL starters

Two Liverpool players in the top six, but neither are first in a ranking of the England chances of 60 uncapped Premier League starters so far this season.

 

60) Chris Basham (Sheffield United)
Once England start using overlapping centre-halves, Basham will be the first in line for a call-up. But it is now uncertain whether the 35-year-old will even kick a ball professionally again.

 

59) Teden Mengi (Luton)
Caps for five England age groups up to the U20s will be of far more international relevance than two Manchester United appearances – of six and 29 minutes – or the other 23 games for Derby, Birmingham and Luton that comprise Mengi’s senior career so far. But neither puts him at all close to the frame.

 

58) Max Lowe (Sheffield United)
A contradictory name but a pretty straightforward call: Lowe’s nine Premier League starts across three years have produced eight defeats and one draw. And he came off after 19 minutes of the draw due to injury.

 

57) Jaidon Anthony (Leeds, on loan from Bournemouth)
Southgate doesn’t pick players from the Championship, never mind those whose second-tier appearances are far more often as a substitute than a starter; Anthony still has more league minutes for Bournemouth than he does Leeds this season.

 

56) Elijah Adebayo (Luton)
The second-best Premier League player ever with those first seven letters in his surname he may be, Adebayo will nevertheless likely end up with as many England caps as the best.

He's magic, you know…..

No player has played in more games for the Hatters under Rob Edwards (39 of 42 games)

….Elijah Adebayo pic.twitter.com/StfR7tPndc

— Luton Town Facts & Figures (@FactsLuton) October 8, 2023

 

55) Jack Hinshelwood (Brighton)
Very much part of the youth set-up fabric, the only Premier League start of 18-year-old Hinshelwood’s career ended in a 6-1 defeat and that is one of many things that will have to change before his phone rings.

 

54) Matt Targett (Newcastle)
Made as many England U21 appearances under Southgate as Harry Kane. Might not match his numbers for the senior side.

 

53) Harry Toffolo (Nottingham Forest)
Part of the England U20 side which lost the Mercedes Cup final to Germany in 2015 and surely too scarred from that experience to come into senior contention.

 

52) Adam Smith (Bournemouth)
Sod death and taxes – the only certainty in life is Adam Smith playing at right-back for Bournemouth. The bloke first represented England at youth level in November 2006; Southgate the player was only six months retired.

 

51) Ben Osborn (Sheffield United)
Three Premier League appearances this season in three different positions, each in defeat. Poor sod.

 

50) Charlie Taylor (Burnley)
Sean Dyche was once “convinced” about the England credentials of Taylor but even he would struggle to argue the case now.

 

49) Ryan Giles (Luton)
Luton have improved markedly since dropping Giles, whose eligibility is also undermined somewhat by the fact he is an actual left-back.

 

48) Reece Burke (Luton)
Not sure a West Ham-developed centre-half has ever made any sort of impact for England.

 

47) Ben Mee (Brentford)
Started alongside Jack Rodwell, Josh McEachran, James Vaughan and Nathan Delfouneso in his last appearance for an England team. His late red card in a 1-0 defeat to Italy U21s in February 2011 has been held against him for more than a decade. It’s time to let it go.

 

46) Joel Ward (Crystal Palace)
Being a right-back is a natural advantage in this era but being 34 counteracts that slightly.

 

45) James McAtee (Sheffield United, on loan from Manchester City)
Although Manchester City rejected reported £30m offers for McAtee this summer, Sheffield United are yet to see the sort of form which the midfielder displayed on loan in more favourable climates last season.

 

44) Jack Robinson (Sheffield United)
Only Jerome Sinclair and Harvey Elliott have debuted for Liverpool at a younger age than Robinson. And those are three players with wildly differing England prospects.

 

43) Joe Worrall (Nottingham Forest)
More of the sort of heroic performances he conjured against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in September – a great many more – would be required to even put Worrall on the radar.

 

42) Lewis Dobbin (Everton)
No longer even playing for Everton now they have other options available.

 

41) Joe Rothwell (Bournemouth)
More like No Rothwell.

 

40) Jayden Bogle (Sheffield United)
More like Jayden Nogle. I’ll stop now.

 

39) Craig Dawson (Wolves)
The most ’73 caps for Northern Ireland’ player of entirely English descent there has ever been. And frankly he’s above such nonsense as international football.

 

38) Marcus Tavernier (Bournemouth)
Managing as many successful take-ons as Raheem Sterling at a far better completion rate in considerably fewer minutes would ordinarily stand in a player’s favour but for once, Tavernier has timed his run poorly.

 

37) Carlton Morris (Luton)
There is no next Harry Kane waiting in line so sod it.

 

36) Wes Foderingham (Sheffield United)
The goalkeeping threshold is inevitably lower but Foderingham also has a higher save percentage than Jordan Pickford and a positive PSxG-GA despite conceding literally eight goals in one match.

 

35) Dan Burn (Newcastle)
“I feel that I am at a level where I could be playing for England. The England manager comes to all the games and I am not getting picked though. It’s obviously something he does not like or he does not fancy,” Burn said recently of his continued Three Lions shunning, before adding: “I understand that there are levels to play for England. We have Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell who technically I feel I am nowhere near.” That might be it.

 

34) Jack Harrison (Everton)
In three Premier League seasons with Leeds, Harrison recorded 16, nine and 12 goal contributions respectively. Fine numbers, considering they were struggling for much of that period, and his Everton start has promised plenty. But his consistency is in being good, not great.

 

33) Aaron Ramsey (Burnley)
His shortest of five Premier League appearances for Burnley this season came in the only one game they have won so far. Oh.

 

32) Jarell Quansah (Liverpool)
Jurgen Klopp is a particular fan of the 20-year-old centre-half, whose hopes of regular playing opportunities this season might rely on another Anfield Quadruple tilt.

 

31) Ryan Yates (Nottingham Forest)
Important on and off the pitch for Nottingham Forest. Non-existent for England.

 

30) Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Manchester United)
Certainly in a far better position since his unexpected Manchester United U-turn but the feeling lingers that right-back connoisseur Southgate simply doesn’t fancy Wan-Bissaka.

 

29) Harrison Reed (Fulham)
In that sweet spot as a consistently very good player who should nevertheless not make the England grade yet simultaneously can be held as an example by many as tiresome proof that Southgate does not pick on form.

 

28) Keane Lewis-Potter (Brentford)
Season two has already generated almost as much playing time as season one at Brentford but Lewis-Potter is drowning in a deep pool of wide forward options.

 

27) Lloyd Kelly (Bournemouth)
England has had a Larry Lloyd, a Carlton Lloyd Palmer, a Trever Lloyd Sinclair and a Chris Lloyd Smalling, but never a first-name Lloyd. And it doesn’t feel as though the country is ready yet.

 

26) Josh Brownhill (Burnley)
While many peculiar things would have to fall into place, Jack Cork did get an England cap under Southgate while at Burnley.

 

25) Will Hughes (Crystal Palace)
Thanks for asking but probably not, no.

 

24) Luke Thomas (Sheffield United, on loan from Leicester)
Southgate was reportedly watching the full-back in January 2022 and the only difference to October 2023 is that Thomas is playing for a very bad Sheffield United team instead of a really good Leicester one.

 

23) Alfie Doughty (Luton)
The fourth-best creative force in the Premier League currently is even adept at left-back.

 

22) Dwight McNeil (Everton)
Until England finally bite the bullet and bring in Sean Dyche to avoid another Nations League relegation, McNeil can continue to focus solely on his club exploits.

 

21) Rico Henry (Brentford)
The only positive to come out of Henry’s potentially season-ending knee injury is that England won’t have to weirdly pretend they don’t notice him being really good for a while.

 

20) Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa)
The nod should have come a while ago for Konsa and the fact it still has yet to suggests it never will. England would be utterly foolish to lose him.

 

19) Oliver Skipp (Tottenham)
Anyone in the vague orbit of Angeball is worth a thought.

 

18) Max Aarons (Bournemouth)
An Under-21 European champion he may be, Aarons might have to do something as simple as competing in successive top-flight seasons before taking the next step. His career path with Norwich and Bournemouth thus far: Championship, Premier League, Championship, Premier League, Championship, Premier League. Good job the Premier League Cherries are not currently Championship-bound.

 

17) Cameron Archer (Sheffield United)
Seriously, there is no-one after Kane.

 

16) Jason Steele (Brighton)
Just remember the rules are different for keepers. Marcus Bettinelli was once called up after letting in four goals in the first two games of his Premier League career.

 

15) Max Kilman (Wolves)
A Premier League captain centre-half sitting under the Craig Dawson learning tree and attracting previous interest from Newcastle, Chelsea and Napoli should be under consideration.

 

14) Sean Longstaff (Newcastle)
Has single-handedly turned Newcastle’s entire season around, culminating in an actual Champions League goal against literal PSG.

 

13) Solly March (Brighton)
If it ever was going to come it probably had to be in that early 2023 stretch of excellent form but March cannot be ruled out for as long as he links up with his natural predecessor James Milner at Brighton.

 

12) Carney Chukwuemeka (Chelsea)
That injury really did come at the most inopportune time for a player who has already impressed under Mauricio Pochettino regardless.

 

11) Elliot Anderson (Newcastle)
With Scotland qualified for Euro 2024, things will probably have to become clearer on the international front for Anderson soon. Southgate versus Steve Clarke in a custody ladder match?

 

10) James Garner (Everton)
Dychified in the very best of ways, Garner is just versatile, tireless and talented enough to be overlooked for someone like Jordan Henderson awful soon.

 

9) Adam Webster (Brighton)
Made the 55-man World Cup preliminary squad and had been in line for a proper March call-up before injury struck. Might be Lewis Dunked now the real thing seems to have finally got his feet under the England table.

 

8) James Trafford (Burnley)
Don’t fool yourself into thinking conceding 20 goals and keeping no clean sheets in eight games for Burnley will do anything to dim Trafford’s light for England, to whom he justifiably remains the hero of that historically miserly U21 Euros win.

 

7) Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest)
“He’s having a good season at Forest. We think it’s a little bit early for him with us but we’re watching him closely,” said Southgate of Gibbs-White when justifying his March calls. Not too much has changed since for an excellent player.

 

6) Harvey Elliott (Liverpool)
The great Liverpool midfield rebuild has not buried Elliott, although he is yet to play more than 45 minutes of a Premier League game this season. It remains the case that he is in the best place for his development.

 

5) Rico Lewis (Manchester City)
Votes of confidence do not come more resounding than Pep Guardiola leaning on you in times of need. Lewis helped push Manchester City through a difficult period of their Treble season and was one of his solutions in the petrifying Rodri-less weeks recently. England is in the 18-year-old’s future – it’s just a matter of when.

 

4) Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton)
Hello, left-sided centre-half playing regular Premier League football at 21 after a loan season of evolution and maturity with a big European team.

 

3) Cole Palmer (Chelsea)
Opportunities will be easier to come by at Chelsea, as will injuries. It was still a strange set of circumstances which induced the 21-year-old’s Manchester City exit but Todd Boehly.

 

2) Curtis Jones (Liverpool)
One of the key components in Liverpool’s improvement from April onwards, although his contribution is probably best not judged through still images.

 

1) Anthony Gordon (Newcastle)
It felt preposterous when Gordon declared his “ambition to play for England at the World Cup” last summer after his move to Chelsea failed to materialise. Qatar came a little too soon but Eddie Howe has unearthed an absolute demon.