Barkley blues England place may go to Chelsea team-mate Mount
Midfielder already ahead of team-mate at Chelsea Wilson picks up tips from Kane in training
Mason Mount is pushing to take Ross Barkley’s England place, having already jumped ahead of the midfielder in the Chelsea pecking order.
Mount has impressed England coaches in training prior to the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Czech Republic and Bulgaria.
Barkley, who also faces pressure from Leicester City’s James Maddison, started ahead of Mount for the victories over Bulgaria and Kosovo but has since lost his place to the 20-year-old at Chelsea.
Mount has started six of Chelsea’s games since the last international break, with Barkley starting only twice – against Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup and Brighton.
Steve Holland, assistant to England manager Gareth Southgate, was at Southampton on Sunday to watch Mount score his fourth goal of the season. Barkley was an unused substitute.
Barkley has impressed Southgate over recent months for England but the manager sent Mount on to replace him as a substitute against Kosovo last month, and the former Derby County loanee is now putting pressure on his starting place for tomorrow’s game in Prague and the trip to Sofia. Mount has made two England appearances, both as a substitute, and is now closing in on his first start.
Other than being impressed by Mount’s performances for Chelsea and in England training, Southgate is aware of his close relationship with Declan Rice.
The pair grew up together at Chelsea before Rice was released at the age of 14 and have remained close. Despite the fact that Rice moved to West Ham United, both players believe they have a telepathy on the pitch from their days in the Chelsea youth teams.
One man who is in no doubt over his role in Southgate’s squad is the Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson, who has had to get used to being Harry Kane’s deputy and now faces further competition from Tammy Abraham.
Wilson scored on his only start for England, but his other two appearances have come from the bench. Having netted five times for Bournemouth this season, the 27-year-old has not given up hope of starting more games for his country.
“I focus on my club football, which normally gets you here,” Wilson said. “Those performances speak for themselves. They will get you into the squad, that’s all I can do. When I get here, train well, wait for my opportunity, be patient.
“Harry is a great player. I’m not saying I want to kick him out of the team, but with injuries, things that happen along the way, you have to be ready to grasp the opportunity, whether it is one minute, 20 minutes, the opening whistle. It’s not just thinking, ‘Harry is going to play.’ Anything could happen and I have to be ready to come on and make a difference.
“I like to think I can make an impact. In cup games, I tend to come on for Bournemouth as a sub and you get quite a few goals from that, defences get a bit tired. It has its pros and cons.
“No professional footballer will say they want to be on the bench. I keep working hard at club level to try to eventually get a starting place, whether that is an opportunity in a friendly where the manager plays a two, playing with Harry. Things change in football so quickly that you have to be ready to take your opportunity.”
Other than waiting for a chance to either play with Kane or take his place, Wilson has been picking up tips from the England captain during training sessions.
“He’s the captain, he plays well for his club week in, week out, so he’s doing something right,” Wilson said. “In training, you watch how clinical he is, in the finishing sessions, training with him, doing those sessions. There is no laughing and joking, just pure concentration.
“Sometimes in club football, you’ll be doing a finishing session but having a bit of banter with the lads, a competition, laughing and joking, people missing, but, in a game, that is not what happens, you have to be focused. Harry is in that frame of mind and I have taken that into my own training back at Bournemouth. Do your finishing and then go in and have a laugh with the lads.”
Wilson’s form has brought rumours of a January move to Manchester United and the former nonleague loanee has revealed that he always believed he was destined for the top.
“I was playing on loan at Kettering and Tamworth, and I said I will play for England one day,” Wilson said. “Everyone calls me selfconfident. If you don’t believe you can get somewhere, you will never get there. That was always the aim, to play for the national team and to play in the Premier League.
“When I got there, I felt I had been there before because, in my head, I had been there.
“I never actually told any of the players, it’s a bit disrespectful when a lot of those players were a bit older and never got that opportunity. I basically told family, friends, they all said, ‘Yes, go for it,’ and here I am.”