OPINION
Newcastle United defender Jamaal Lascelles must play a blinder against Tottenham on Wednesday to ensure that England manager Gareth Southgate takes him to the World Cup in the summer.
The 24-year-old Magpies enforcer has been wrongly overlooked all season by his nation, after impressing in the 33 appearances he has made for his club, but now has a golden chance to force his way into Southgate’s plans.
Liverpool defender Joe Gomez is set to be unavailable to play for England in the summer,as according to the BBC, after having ankle surgery he won’t recover in time to be fit enough to travel to Russia.
The 20-year-old Reds right-back, who is preferred as a centre-back for his nation, was a shoo-in to make Southgate’s World Cup squad after impressing in England’s friendly games against Germany and Brazil.
However with Gomez cruelly out of the picture, Lascelles has found himself with a last-gasp opportunity to get himself on the plane to Russia and win his first England senior caps.
As the Magpies captain is yet to force himself onto Southgate’s radar, based on the fact he’s been snubbed so far, the defender needs a way of grabbing the manager’s attention.
The easiest way to do this is to shine in the Magpies’ game against Spurs at Wembley on Wednesday as the England manager will surely be looking on.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side contains a lot of England internationals that Southgate will no doubt be keen to watch, and Lascelles has the ability to take the spotlight off them and put it on himself.
All the 24-year-old needs to do is put in the tip top performance that he is capable of against a side pushing for a top-four finish in the Premier League, and prove to Southgate that he is worth having in his squad.
This is all means that Lascelles could finally get his just desserts, international recognition, for his fantastic season by playing out of his skin against Spurs to make the most of his golden opportunity.
