The legendary skipper stands down from Three Lions duty, and we’ve run down five possible replacements…
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England’s captain Steven Gerrard has retired from international duty, meaning there’s now a spot in the squad, and possibly the team, available for a young holding midfielder to take with both hands.
There are no obvious candidates for the position, meaning that a range of Englishman will be desperate to start the 2014/15 season well, and force their way into Roy Hodgson’s plans.
5) James Ward-Prowse
The Southampton man has ten caps for the England Under-21s, and despite being aged just 19, he’s already made 60 appearances for Southampton. At St. Mary’s, young players are given a chance to hone their ability – and England stars like Theo Walcott, Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana have come through the ranks at the coastal club in recent years. Ward-Prowse is a very good passer, makes his fair share of tackles, enjoys taking set-pieces, but rarely ever makes interceptions or scores goals. He’s a teenager though, and he has more than enough time to develop into one of the Premier League’s best all-round midfielders.
4) Jack Rodwell
Rodwell has only made 16 appearances in two seasons since signing for Manchester City in 2012, and his career has totally stagnated. He has actually already won three caps for his country, performing especially excellently against Spain on one occasion. He’s combative, physically impressive and composed on the ball – but he badly needs to leave his club if he’s to fulfil his talent, because he can’t do it sitting on the bench.
3) Phil Jones
Predominantly a central defender, Jones has also showed reasonable ability in midfield, and could definitely do a job as a tough-tackling anchorman. Physically, he’s superb – although he has nowhere near the passing or creative ability of Gerrard. His industry and work-rate partly makes up for it, but Jones’s England future is surely at the back.
2) Jonjo Shelvey
Shelvey used to play alongside Gerrard at Liverpool, but left to join Swansea for guaranteed first-team football. He actually suits the way England are trying to play football now, because he craves the ball, and can pass both short and long. Like Gerrard, Shelvey likes to sit deep and sprays passes, and he has also a terrific long shot. When he isn’t playing well though, he usually has a shocker and looks bereft of confidence – although this could change as he matures. Talent wise, Shelvey has the potential to force himself back into the England setup.
1) Fabian Delph
Delph was rated as a huge talent when at Leeds United as a youngster, but he mostly faded into obscurity after moving to Aston Villa in 2009. Only last season, for the first time in five years, did Delph establish himself as a starter at Villa Park, and he was probably their best player throughout the course of the campaign. He can tackle, dribble, and should score more goals than he does. At 24 though, he’ll never develop into the player Gerrard was at his peak.
