Steve Bruce backs Newcastle’s Jamaal Lascelles for England

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Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce has urged England manager Gareth Southgate to consider Jamaal Lascelles for his next Three Lions squad.

The 25-year-old has earned caps at all youth levels, but is yet to make his senior debut for the Three Lions.

His missed out on a call up again this time for games against Bulgaria and Kosovo, but Bruce reckons it might not and should not be long before he gets the nod.

He said (Chronicle): “That is the next big step for him. You have just seen Tyrone Mings appear from nowhere. All you can do is keep playing well on the biggest stage.

“I have been very, very pleased with him. The next step is now Gareth Southgate. And Gareth is welcome to his opinion.”

At the moment, Lascelles has vast competition in terms of England, with Southgate having Mings, Harry Maguire, Joe Gomez, John Stones, Michael Keane, Lewis Dunk, James Tarkowski all fighting it out.

TBR’s view

Lascelles has shown himself to be a capable Premier League defender since the club’s return to the English top-flight a couple of years ago.

The Magpies captain is a key figure for Newcastle and his leadership is vital.

That said, arguably he is outclassed by teammates Fabian Schar and Florian Lejeune when fit, so going forwards he will need to make sure he stands out as better than them to really catch Southgate’s attention.

It will be difficult for Lascelles given the level of competition, but Southgate is known for rewarding form players with call ups and the star should be encouraged by that.