Jonjo Shelvey deserves England shot - but so did players Roy Hodgson left out

The announcement of the England squad for the upcoming meetings with San Marino and Switzerland naturally opened a debate as to who should and should not be in Roy Hodgson’s team. The first international break of the season is often met with unimpressed glances from the regular football fan, keen to see how their side’s new signings perform following the close of the transfer window.

Nevertheless, it’s a somewhat welcome break from domestic action, where early assumptions have been made as to who will win the title or be relegated, with supporters instead focusing their attention on the players selected for the national team. England’s squad certainly threw up a number of questions, most notably the absence of a few key players who are perhaps worthy of a spot among England’s best at this present time.

Perhaps one of the most notable exceptions from the squad was that of Charlie Austin. The striker was expected to move on to pastures new over the summer following an impressive debut Premier League campaign, with his 18 league goals bettered only by Sergio Aguero (26), Harry Kane (21) and Diego Costa (20). The 26-year old has maintained his good goalscoring form having surprisingly remained at Loftus Road, with his four goals enough to place him atop the goalscoring charts in the Championship so far.

A WhoScored.com rating of 7.57 ranks him among the top 10 players in England’s second tier of football and, given Wayne Rooney’s thoroughly underwhelming performances so far and Harry Kane’s current goal drought, Austin was certainly worthy of a place in the squad with the chance to prove himself against both San Marino and Switzerland. Austin, though, is not the only English player to have started the campaign brightly with Micah Richards, Jason Puncheon and Jack Cork all impressing, for Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Swansea City respectively.

When taking into account the personnel Hodgson has called on, it’s Jack Cork who can perhaps feel most hard done by, especially when considering Ryan Mason has returned to the national set-up and Fabian Delph has kept his place despite just 17 minutes of action since a move to City. Mason has underwhelmed for a stuttering Spurs side, while Cork has excelled. The Swansea star has made more interceptions (19) than any other Premier League player this season, a figure that ranks third in Europe’s top five leagues. However, while the 26-year old can feel aggrieved at being overlooked, team-mate Jonjo Shelvey warrants his place in the national team.

Many tipped the 23-year-old Swans star to return to the international setup after a superb start to the season, during which he has gained a WhoScored.com rating of 7.58; only Ross Barkley (7.63) – also in the England squad – has gained a better rating of all English players in the Premier League this term. Swansea are one of three teams to make an unbeaten start to the campaign, with Shelvey playing a vital role in that. Only Santi Cazorla (16) has played more key passes than the English midfielder (14) in England’s top tier this term, while no Premier League player has had more shots from outside the box than Shelvey (11). Clearly confident following a strong start to the season, Hodgson will be hoping the midfielder can transfer his club form onto the international stage in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Jack Butland and Jamie Vardy are two more players worthy of a spot in the England squad. The latter has not let an off-field racism controversy affect his impressive start for Leicester, with only Bafetimbi Gomis (7.65) gaining a better WhoScored.com rating than Vardy (7.42) of all Premier League strikers so far. Butland, meanwhile, has also come along nicely following his promotion to Stoke City number one in the wake of Asmir Begovic’s move to Chelsea, with the young shotstopper making a notable 17 saves already this term. Such form has seen him gain a WhoScored.com rating of 7.12, a return better then England regular Joe Hart (7.09) and the best of all English goalkeepers.

There are a handful of players who perhaps should have been included in the England squad, but all in all, the vast majority have little to complain about over Hodgson’s latest picks. Shelvey, Butland and Vardy are all worthy of their place with the national team on form, though expect the likes of Austin and Cork to come into the reckoning if they can maintain their strong start to the season over the coming weeks and months.