Does any Leicester player deserve to be in England's World Cup squad?
Editor’s note: try to spot who answered this before the Newport game.
In all of the stats tables you see about English players and their ‘goal contributions’, there’s always a name there that barely gets a mention, Harvey Barnes. His numbers are superb, and he offers that direct threat and ability to run in behind that could suit the way England play. He at least deserves to be considered in the same way that Bowen will be, for example.
I actually think JJ is in with the best shout of going due to the recent injuries. His versatility in being able to play as a full back on either side or as a third centre back will be a huge plus for Southgate’s style. He’s been underwhelming on the whole this season but I do think he’s starting to show signs of hitting a bit of form, and if he impressed with his attitude and application in the last England camp then he could well be on the plane.
Chloe Dexter
To be honest, I don't think there is a case for anyone else. James Justin hasn't been at his best for us this season, although he’s not been helped by playing on the left with Castagne on the right.
I think the rest of the country has finally realised that Maddison has to be on the plane. He was unplayable at Everton and has had the most goal involvements (30) of any English midfielder since August 2021 having scored three more than Foden, five more than Mount and a staggering 14 more than Grealish.
Some people have said that England don't play with a 10, but if we play four at the back then we will do and even if Sterling, Foden and Saka start behind Kane then Maddison and Grealish on the left would be fantastic options coming off the bench.
He's dangerous from set-pieces, plays on the turn, is both footed and can play those delicate balls in behind so it's a no brainer for me ahead of players like Gallagher, Sancho and Rashford.
Jordan Halford
I'd say probably not, I do think you could argue JJ and even Barnes' corner, but I'm not having anyone say KDH.
JJ wouldn't be near the squad if everyone was fit, especially considering he's been pretty short of form all season, but his versatility and the injuries of Walker, James and Chilwell meant he could’ve been an outside shout.
On all the stats getting thrown about as evidence on why Maddison should go (he not only should go but should be starting by the way) there's been Harvey Barnes sat in amongst it and above the likes of Mount, Foden, Bowen and Sterling for PL goal involvements in 2022, yet there hasn't been a mention of him.
He doesn't feel like he's been as good as that, so I'm not surprised he hasn't been shouted about but maybe he deserves some more credit.
Becky Taylor
It's a tricky one this aside from Maddison (come on Gareth, for goodness sake!).
If this was 2010, Barnes, Justin and KDH would all be in. At that World Cup, there was only Rooney and Milner under 27 in an aging squad of has beens and never weres! There are probably too many in front of Barnes and KDH this time (which shows how much we've improved).
It's a huge shame for Justin with the injury the other night, so unfair on the poor lad. I think he may have sneaked in due to other injuries, which makes his bad luck even worse.
Iain Wright
We all wrote it didn't we? Sigh. One seemingly innocuous challenge notwithstanding, James Justin seemed to be a shoe-in. England's fullback crisis is bordering on a curse and it seems the eye of said curse turned its head to the King Power. If we didn't own Ricardo Pereira, you'd argue James Justin is our most unlucky player.
We don't know the extent of the injury (post Newport) but it didn't look good and it just seems so unfair. It isn't the first time that Justin has been in a rich vein of form only to fall to an injury. The timing on this one seems even worse as it followed a pretty spectacular goal after showcasing Justin's versatility to be able to slot comfortably on either flank.
Since Gareth Southgate appears to be the only person immune to both Maddison's skills and charming personality, Justin felt like the next best chance of getting Leicester representation in the England squad. Consistency issues mean Harvey Barnes is probably nowhere near the running and while I think we could well see Dewsbury-Hall capped eventually, it was never going to be for this tournament.
Helen Thompson
No. The closest is probably James Justin and it would have been interesting to see where he would be in his development if he hadn't suffered that cruciate injury that kept him for a grand total of 49 games across 331 days. He's still not quite looking as good as he was before that setback, but there are recent signs of his old self.
For the likes of Barnes and Dewsbury-Hall, who are hovering around the fringes without really looking like breaking in, it's a good motivator. We can only hope none of these players are looking at Maddison's struggles and thinking they'll have to be at a bigger club to even have a vague chance of another cap.
David Bevan
