England’s future could be tinged with red and blue – Crystal Palace players jostling for the attention of Gareth Southgate

BY ANDREW MCSTEEN

England take on Switzerland and Ivory Coast in an international friendly double bill at Wembley Stadium at the end of March – with the potential of at least four Crystal Palace stars in action.

While Wilfried Zaha is established with the Ivorians, having represented his country of birth at the recent African Cup of Nations, on-loan Eagles’ midfielder Conor Gallagher is likely to receive another senior England squad call-up from former Palace player and current England boss Gareth Southgate after stepping up from the U21s last November.

Current England U21 captain Marc Guehi is also well-placed for a run-out at the top level, while fellow Eagles’ defender Tyrick Mitchell has previously been tipped by his club boss Patrick Vieira to go straight into the senior squad, having never appeared at any age level previously. The right-back has been an ever-present, consistent performer this season in the league for Palace.

If they were to all be picked then Eagles’ fans would have the mouthwatering prospect of seeing Zaha on the left wing going up against Mitchell at right-back at the national stadium.

Watching from the stands at Molineux on Saturday, Southgate would have been impressed by all four as Vieira’s side secured a 2-0 victory against Wolves which propelled them into the Premier League top 10.

And while he was no doubt also watching the impressive Wolves centre-back Max Kilman, he would have left the ground seeing that the Ivory Coast-born Guehi – who has represented England at every level from U16 to U21 – came out on top.

“I’m pleased that Gareth was at the stadium because we have a couple of players in our team that need to be looked at [and] the performance will help,” said a coy Vieira to the South London Press when asked about his thoughts on what Southgate would have been looking for.

“All the English players on the field who were wearing the Palace shirt were really good. But [who impressed him] is more a question for Gareth [about] which one he came to see.”

Depending on what the England boss saw, the future of his senior team has the potential to be tinged with a shade of red and blue.

With Guehi, Gallagher and Mitchell in the mix, Eberechi Eze – who received the senior call last May but could not play due to a serious injury – has recovered and could be considered again, but his limited playing time this season means it is likely the friendlies have come too early.

But what about Michael Olise? With his high-quality performances this season, complete with scoring and assist stats to go with them, he could well be an outside bet to make Southgate’s squad which will be announced later this month.

England will need to be quick as Olise has a quartet of international sides to pick from. He can choose from Algeria, France, Nigeria or England and having already played for the younger age France teams and been on standby for the Nigerian senior squad last year, he is not short of offers.

Even if the England squad does not turn red and blue a little at the end of the month, the south of the river is likely to be represented well with a number of players from the South London-heavy England 21-man U17 FIFA World Cup winning squad from 2017 likely to be named.

Nearly half of that squad five years had a South London background with Guehi, like Gallagher and fellow Palace player Nya Kirby all playing, along with Jonathan Panzo, Steven Sessegnon, Tashan Oakley-Boothe, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Jadon Sancho, Joe Bursik and Emile Smith Rowe.

And Southgate’s squad for the double-header at the end of the month could include call-ups for Smith Rowe, Sancho, Bursik and Camberwell’s Tammy Abraham. But could we also see Guehi, Gallagher, Mitchell and even Olise part of it too?

Main Pic: Tyrick Mitchell