Even if I had any doubts about Ivan Toney’s international qualifications - and I don’t - I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t welcome his selection for England.
I’ve banged on for most of my career about picking players in form, or rather encouraging them with games for doing the right things. Yeah, he may be with an unfashionable club, and there may be questions about his quality - though there are always questions about goalscorers - but he has the right to be in Gareth Southgate’s squad because he’s earned it the hard way.
I know from bitter experience that England very definitely do not always operate on the principle of selecting those who are currently doing their job the best. Forgive me if you’ve heard this before, but I scored almost 100 goals before I got my first senior cap.
