Chris Powell exclusive on first England call-ups for Palace pair Tyrick Mitchell and Marc Guehi
Charlton Athletic legend Chris Powell has helped Tyrick Mitchell settle into the England set-up and has told the Crystal Palace defender he has fully merited his call-up to Gareth Southgate’s squad.
The 22-year-old left-back was a late inclusion ahead of friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast after Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Chelsea’s Reece James withdrew.
Mitchell has missed just eight minutes of Premier League football this season and swells the Eagles contingent in the squad to three – with Marc Guehi, who has captained the Three Lions at U21 level, selected for the seniors for the first time along with Conor Gallagher, on loan from Chelsea.
England coach Powell, who won five caps for his country, had a sit-down with Mitchell on Wednesday.
“He deserves to be here,” Lambeth-born Powell told the South London Press.
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“I had a really good chat with him, just full-back to full-back. I told him I was the left-back at Palace way back in 1986 when I joined, he raised his eyebrows – he wasn’t even born!
“It is a nice link, for me and him. I asked how he felt after training. He’s adapted and looked comfortable, which is very important.
“You’re under a different pressure to being at your club – that is day-to-day and here you have a small window to impress and show everyone you warrant being there.
“He’s a player I’ve kept an eye on ever since Roy [Hodgson] gave him his debut. I remember speaking to one or two staff at Palace, Gary Issott spoke about how good he’d been through their system – he came after Brentford shut down their academy.
“He doesn’t have a national team background through the age groups – that doesn’t matter. Sometimes it is better to establish yourself in your club side and build from there.
“He has got a lot of really good attributes for a full-back. But there is one quality he has which is forgotten about – in that he likes to defend. He is really comfortable engaging one-v-one, in getting close to his opponent, in cutting out crosses and covering around.
“His positioning is very good for a young player, that will have built up under Roy over time and now Patrick [Vieira]. He is a bright player and wants to do well.
“He feeds whoever is playing in front of him, which is normally Wilf [Zaha]. That is what you should do, if you’ve got a player of his quality in front of you. Every now and again you time when to overlap. He’s realised that and already he has played in two slightly different styles of play from Roy to Patrick. Roy was very counter-attacking – good out of possession. Now it is possession-based but Palace also do sometimes defend deep and counter through the quality players they have in the frontline.
“He’s had some good experience so far and that counts for a lot when Gareth is looking at who should come in.”
Guehi has trained with Southgate’s squad previously and the former Chelsea centre-back has an 89 per cent tackle success rate, the best percentage in Europe’s top five leagues.
Palace signed the former Cray Wanderers youngster in a deal that could cost £20million.
Powell said: “When you have been at a club such a long time, such as Chelsea, it is always a big moment to make a permanent change.
“He did that and backed himself – rightly so. Because he has taken to the Premier League brilliantly.
“The way Palace play suits him. He’s a good defender, strong in the air and a natural, quiet leader. He is not a stranger to the senior group.
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“He’s looked good. Once players overcome the nervousness, which is natural, then go and express yourself – show everyone what you’re all about. He should be very proud of what he has done so far. I’m sure he thinks to himself that this is just the beginning of hopefully a long and fruitful England senior career.
“It would be brilliant if Marc or Tyrick can make their debuts at some stage in these games.”
Southgate’s side face the Swiss at Wembley tomorrow (5.30pm) and then head back to the same venue to take on Ivory Coast on Tuesday (7.45pm).
“Whenever you join the senior squad for the first time it’s inspiring but also quite daunting,” said Powell. “You play in the same league as these guys but when you come together the enormity of what you are representing, who is there and you see Gareth and Steve [Holland] – and you’re at St George’s – it’s a lot to take in.
“We’ve been very good, ever since I’ve been involved, in making sure new players feel part of it. The squad take care of them as well but it’s also important the players hear from the staff as well – and Gareth and Steve are very good at that. The rest of us make sure we speak to them and make sure they adjust and get to the standards that are required, because you have to be at your best – in everything you do – to stay in the mind of the manager, the staff but also you’ve got the players to impress.”