Speaking on Callum Wilson call up to his England World Cup squad, Gareth Southgate revealed that ‘form could be more important’ in his decision to select Newcastle’s number nine over the likes Tammy Abraham; who’s been struggling at Roma this season.
The 30-year-old was selected ahead of Ivan Toney, Tammy Abraham and Dominic Calvert-Lewin due to his great start to the season, and the England boss believes recent form just edged the decision in Wilson’s favour.
On his decision, Southgate said: “Tammy’s had a poor run of scoring form at the wrong time. It’s not a case of where we’re three or four weeks from the first game, it’s 10 days. So, form could be more important.
“We’re watching the players club form but we don’t really know where they are until we see them face-to-face, until we see them on the training pitch. We get regular medical updates from all their clubs, but there’ll be medical issues we’re not completely aware of.
“We know the form we’re seeing in the matches, but even so you still don’t get the full picture from the players until you’re able to speak to them, work with them and see how they train with each other.”
The former Bournemouth man joins Keiran Trippier and Nick Pope as the third Newcastle player to represent us at the upcoming tournament – a feat that seemed virtually impossible 12 months ago.
This will be the first time Wilson will represent his country since 2019 – and to do it at the World Cup, the biggest stage in football, is a childhood dream come true for the prolific goalscorer.
Here’s hoping our star striker can help England go all the way this time and come back to Tyneside fully fit and ready to continue his good form as we seek a European finish in the second-half of the season.
