Manager Gareth Southgate will name his England squad tomorrow - and Nottingham Forest’s Jesse Lingard will no doubt be awaiting the announcement with interest.
The Three Lions face Italy and Germany in the UEFA Nations League this month. It is Southgate’s last chance to run the rule over players at close quarters before making his selection for the World Cup in Qatar.
Lingard was a key figure as England made the semi-finals of the competition four years ago, but he missed out on last year’s Euro 2020. When he arrived at the City Ground, he stated his ambition of getting back into the fold with the national team, with the World Cup fast approaching.
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Asked about his aims, he told the official club website after putting pen to paper: “I like to keep them close to my chest but obviously England's a big one with the World Cup coming up. The most important thing is team goals and I really think we can do big things this season.”
Last November, Southgate explained he had dropped Lingard and Jadon Sancho from his squad for World Cup qualifiers against Albania and San Marino due to their lack of form and game time. Lingard was still at Manchester United at the time, and was not playing regularly, although he had featured for his country in qualifiers earlier in the season.
“With Jesse and Jadon, I mean they just aren’t playing a lot of football compared to the other players in their positions,” Southgate said. “I know people say I’m inconsistent, but I don’t think I am. If you’re playing regularly for your club, you’ve got a much better chance of us assessing your level compared to the rest of the group.
“Sometimes there’ll be a lot of depth in one position and there might not be as much depth in another position, and the player that is in the position with less depth might have a better chance of getting in with less club time. With these two lads, they’ve got great competition for places in the positions they play.
“Jesse has had 10-15 minutes. I don’t know what his form is, what his fitness is, really, to be able to assess him against the rest of the group.
“Both of those boys when I spoke with them totally understood that. They get it. They know that at the moment they’ve got to get playing for their club and playing well and then England is a bonus on the top. But they’re both players that have done well for us and I’m sure they’ll be back with us.”
With Southgate’s comments in mind, Lingard has pressed his cause for inclusion by getting minutes under his belt for Forest. He has started five of the Reds’ six Premier League matches, being an unused substitute for the defeat at Manchester City.
Head coach Steve Cooper said of Lingard after he chipped in with an assist in the 1-0 win over West Ham United last month: "He showed really good moments. His movement and his tactical awareness, how he played in certain areas, was really pleasing. He balanced off his game between staying with the midfield players and being with the two strikers.
"He had a really positive game and the good thing is he got another 90 minutes in. There's so many of our boys that are not 100 percent fully fit.”
Whether or not Lingard is among Southgate’s pick, and regardless of whether he makes the World Cup, Cooper will hope there is still more to come from him at the City Ground. He is arguably yet to find top form in the Garibaldi, with the manager’s challenge to find a way of getting the best out of the attacking talent in his dressing room. Qatar may be on the horizon, but the big priority is the Reds’ Premier League mission.
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