Rangers captain James Tavernier is proving by the game that he is more than good enough for an England call-up and as English fans pipe up it’s about time their national set-up did too.
England are one nation which is particularly blessed in the right-back department, Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Man City’s Kyle Walker the first picks in a plethora of talent.
Add Atletico Madrid’s Kieran Trippier, Manchester United’s Aaron Wan Bissaka and Chelsea’s Reece James into the mix and suddenly it becomes a group which looks impossible to permeate.
It’s also a group with a collective value of £259m – a figure which dramatically dwarfs the £250k Rangers reportedly paid Wigan for Tavernier’s services in 2015 [Daily Record].
But forget the fact these guy are playing in England or at the highest level – Tavernier’s form and performances this season are electric in any arena.
There is absolutely no doubt that the Ibrox captain could do a job at right-back for England and whilst he might not be a first-teamer, he can certainly challenge.
Alexander-Arnold and Walker aside, James Tavernier is for me at the same level as those other three players mentioned in the English right-back berth and is on better form than all of them.
So far this season, 29-year-old Tavernier has hit 17 goals and laid on 13 assists in 27 games.
He also shows no signs of stopping and is an athletic, tactically astute leader on the field, something which would be an asset to almost any side.
Rangers will be braced with bids from the Premier League this January but stopping short of a transformational fee the club are unlikely to budge on their captain’s status.
Premier League leaders Spurs and Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton are two such teams which have been linked. [Daily Mail].
This alone is evidence enough of the progress the Ibrox captain has made this season and if he keeps this form up before the next round of international’s Gareth Southgate surely can’t deny him a chance.
One former Rangers full-back turned English international believes the Gers captain has what it takes to be a Three Lions international as he compared him to a £53m Premier League full-back.