Leicester City: Drinkwater and Vardy called up to the England Squad
By Jake Cursley
Last night saw the two Leicester City players get called up by new England boss Sam Allardyce ahead of the World Cup qualifier against Slovakia on Sunday.
Sam Allardyce was appointed as England’s new manager after predecessor Roy Hodgson failed to reach the quarter finals of the Euro 2016 championship after a shock exit to Iceland.
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Many expected Leicester City’s star striker Jamie Vardy to be in the selection however whether midfielder Danny Drinkwater would be in the squad was up in the air.
Drinkwater won the Man of The Match award on his England debut against Holland after a brilliant display in midfield, however his international success was soon to falter.
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He missed out on a place in the Euro squad after being kept out of the team by Barkley, Henderson and Wilshere. None of which had particularly stellar seasons.
Despite this, the Leicester City midfielder looks to be in Allardyce’s plans going forward and will be positive about his future in the England midfield as he’s exactly the type of player ‘Big Sam’ will look for.
Many expected the 26 year old to fall of dramatically last season, claiming that he was being carried by his midfield partner N’Golo Kante last season. After N’Golo left, the pressure on Drinkwater was huge.
This type of pressure is nothing new to Danny. In the summer of the 2015/16 campaign, following the foxes’ dramatic relegation escape, many Leicester City fans were praying that midfield legend Esteban Cambiasso would remain at the club, fearing that if he left, the midfield would fall apart.
He did leave but Drinkwater stepped up to the plate for the first time, the second time being the start of this season.
Perhaps it is Craig Shakespeare’s influence on the England setup being shown too, after Leicester City’s assistant manager took up the task of being a part of Allardyce’s backroom staff on a part time basis.
Leicester City’s winger Marc Albrighton may feel hard done by however.
As a dark horse for reaching England’s qualifying squad for the upcoming international break, Albrighton looked like he could possibly have gotten the nod from Sam after a fantastic 2015/16 season with Leicester City, helping the foxes win the league.
Despite his fantastic form, it wasn’t meant to be. He lost out on this place to West Ham winger Michail Antonio who has also been in fantastic form this past season, with many expecting him to have had a chance at making the Euros squad.
Perhaps both Marc and Michail should have been included in the summer England squad after the only true winger was Raheem Sterling.
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This was potentially one of the many faults Roy Hodgson made and hopefully, one that Big Sam will learn from.