Lascelles tipped to make England World Cup squad
Newcastle United defender Jamal Lascelles has been tipped to make Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad.
As reported by the Nottingham Post, Magpies boss Rafa Benitez believes that Lascelles could be in contention.
If he can improve a lot during these months – I am sure he will continue improving – you never know. He’s not now in the squad, but if they have a couple of problems, maybe he could be there.
The Newcastle captain has not been capped by England at a senior level yet but the former Nottingham Forest defender has featured for the Three Lions at various youth levels.
Lascelles has grown into a leader at St James Park after joining the club during the season they were relegated from the Premier League.
Southgate has been monitoring Lascelles this season and the England manager has shown he is ready to put faith in younger players in a bid to shake up the squad.
Harry Maguire and Ben Gibson have both featured for Southgate since he replaced Sam Allardyce, with the Leicester City defender expected to make the World Cup squad later this year.