Rangers star James Tavernier has been tipped for a call up to the England squad in the past, and his chances might just have been boosted by an incident involving a rival full-back.
Atletico Madrid right-back Kieran Trippier is a regular in the England team and famously scored a free-kick for the country in the 2-1 2018 World Cup semi-final defeat to Croatia.
But Trippier, 30, has been handed a 10-week worldwide football ban and fined £70k for betting offences.
The ex-Spurs full-back refuted the allegations but out of seven alleged breaches, four were proven and the former Burnley man banned [BBC Sport].
It means the full-back won’t be available to play for Atletico until March – the month of the next international break – and will miss key clashes such at Atleti’s last 16 Champions League first leg with Chelsea.
It’s not clear what impact the betting breaches will have on his England career but there’s little doubt Trippier will be up against it when he returns to action next year.
Whilst it certainly doesn’t make Tav a shoo-in for a place in Gareth Southgate’s squad, this news almost certainly doesn’t harm his chances.
That said, right-back isn’t exactly a position where England are in dire need of reinforcements, the Three Lions squad blessed with a plethora of full-back talent.
Trippier himself moved to Madrid for £20m in the summer of 2019 whilst Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Man City’s Kyle Walker are squad regulars.
In total, we calculated there’s about £259m worth of hurdles for the Gers captain to clear before he can force his way into the England set-up.