Paris St Germain boss Luis Enrique has played down any injury concerns for Kylian Mbappe after the France forward did not take part in full training ahead of Saturday’s Ligue 1 match against Lille.
Mbappe, who continues to be linked with a move to Real Madrid in the summer, picked up a minor issue during the Coupe de France win over Brest on Wednesday night.
Despite having not joined in with the rest of the squad for Friday’s final training session and instead worked in the gym, Enrique insists there are no concerns over his availability.
“Kylian will be fit tomorrow and available to play,” Enrique said.
“He didn’t train today because we didn’t want to take any risks, so he trained inside, but he will be available for the game.”
PSG continue their Champions League campaign next week with the first leg of their last 16 tie against Real Sociedad.
Enrique, though, insisted everyone was focused on the job in hand against Lille, who sit fourth in the table.
“We are at a point in the season where we play every three days. We have to plan the options with the staff to always be competitive,” Enrique said.
“We must not underestimate any match – all games are important. As a squad, we try to have two players per position of equivalent level.
“We don’t want to forget certain matches, consider one more important than another even if the one against Real Sociedad is highly anticipated.
“We want to be competitive and be able to win every match.”
Enrique told a press conference: “Lille has a very good team and a coach that I really like.
“It will be difficult when we have the ball because they will come and press us and difficult when we don’t have it because they have good use of it.
“It’s a great test for us, to prove that we want to be competitive in all matches.”
Forward Randal Kolo Muani missed the midweek cup tie because of a viral infection, while left-back Nuno Mendes is stepping up his recovery from surgery on his hamstring.
Lee Kang-in has been given some time on leave following Asia Cup duty with South Korea.
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has suggested the club are ready to quit the Parc des Princes and look for a new home ground elsewhere after city officials confirmed the stadium was not for sale.
“I believe the president was very clear in his message,” Enrique said.
“I know for sure that he is working to find the best solution for the club. This is essential for us to be stronger.”
England boss Gareth Southgate is keeping a close eye on teenage talent Kobbie Mainoo having been impressed by his “fabulous” breakthrough at Manchester United.
The 18-year-old academy graduate joined the Red Devils aged nine and has long been tipped for stardom, going onto make his first-team bow in January 2023.
Mainoo has now made 14 appearances in all competitions for United and would have played more had he not sustained an injury during their US tour in the summer.
The midfielder has represented England up to under-19s level and his burgeoning displays have impressed senior boss Southgate.
“He’s doing brilliantly,” the England manager said after Thursday’s Nations League draw in Paris. “I’m not certain he’s necessarily going to be a defensive midfielder, as such.
“He’s quite a progressive player but he’s had a fabulous start to his career and it will be good to monitor him as we go forward.”
England return to action with Wembley friendlies against Brazil and Belgium as preparations continue for Euro 2024 in Germany.
Whether the tournament is too soon for Mainoo remains to be seen but Southgate’s side are short of in-form midfield options, plus he took Jude Bellingham to Euro 2020 aged 17.
Stockport-born Mainoo is also eligible for Ghana and their Football Association has expressed interest in calling up the United teenager.
Randy Abbey, a member of the executive council of the Ghana FA, last week told The Times: “The Ghana Football Association is interested in monitoring, attracting, and persuading all eligible talents for its various national teams.
“Kobbie is definitely one of these incredible talents and the association would love to work with him and many like him at home and abroad.”
Mainoo has started United’s last nine matches in all competitions and followed his first senior goal against Newport in the FA Cup with a stoppage-time winner at Wolves.
Last week’s outstanding solo goal secured a 4-3 victory at Molineux and led to team-mate Rasmus Hojlund to describe him as a “generational talent”.
Erik ten Hag has urged Manchester United’s young stars to keep striving to improve.
There has been a sense of nascent optimism at Old Trafford in recent weeks, with new investment and improved performances and results on the pitch.
In their last four games, United have claimed Premier League wins over Wolves and West Ham, a draw with Tottenham and an FA Cup victory over Newport, scoring 13 goals in the process.
View this post on Instagram
At the centre of all those matches has been the young trio of Rasmus Hojlund, Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo, who have contributed eight of those goals, with 21-year-old Danish striker Hojlund scoring in all the games.
A picture of the youngsters sitting on an advertising hoarding together celebrating Garnacho’s first goal in last Sunday’s 3-0 victory over West Ham summed up the shift in mood.
“Players need time, especially young players like Rasmus and Alejandro,” said United boss Ten Hag.
“They need time but also they need a team, so those two facts were not there in the first part of the season. We had to make a lot of adjustments in our way of playing, so by stages it was difficult to serve the offensive part of the team.
“When that happens, it can go really quickly that players are going to develop and to progress, like we have seen. From the start I was confident they have the potential to do what they are now doing, and now it’s about keeping moving, keeping going, be hungry.
“I think they enjoy to play together. There is adventure. They are a danger. They want to do it together and to pass to each other so that everyone can play to their qualities and everyone can score goals.
“It’s great if they want to do it together because that is the key then we can have a lot of pleasure from this.
“They are young players and the future for Manchester United is quite bright with such talent on board, but you have to develop the talent.
“There is a lot of space for improvement and that is necessary if you want to go to the top levels. This club wants to achieve a lot, to win trophies, is very ambitious, so they then have to step up and bring higher levels and consistency.
“Also, against the best opposition they have to express the same threat, and it is about end product.”
Hojlund, 18-year-old Mainoo and 19-year-old Garnacho’s next chance to impress will come on Sunday against Aston Villa.
Unai Emery has earned huge plaudits for the work he has done to elevate Villa into a team challenging for the Champions League and United will almost certainly need to overhaul them if they are to finish in the top four.
Ten Hag is an admirer of Emery, saying: “I think it is very good how he developed this team and it’s very clear how they want to play, in and out of possession.
“I think the players know exactly what they have to do, their jobs and how they have to cooperate with each other. They are really a team, they absolutely have weapons in their team, so we have to play our maximum levels to get the right result.”
Bayern Munich head coach Thomas Tuchel is targeting a “statement performance” to end the 30-match unbeaten run of title rivals Bayer Leverkusen.
Leverkusen hold a two-point lead over Saturday’s visitors at the top of the Bundesliga after winning 16 and drawing four of their 20 league games this season.
Xabi Alonso’s side can also boast a 100 per cent record in the group stage of the Europa League and twice came from behind in the German Cup on Tuesday to beat Stuttgart 3-2 and advance to the semi-finals.
However, Bayern can call on their experience of winning 11 consecutive Bundesliga titles and Tuchel believes his side have room for improvement as they approach the business end of the season.
“It’s exciting that two teams are earning points at such a high level,” Tuchel told a pre-match press conference.
“We’ve also had a very good campaign in terms of our history. We’re completely focused on what we can do. We want a statement performance. If we want to win, we need a top performance.
“It’s the week in which we want to prove ourselves. We’re playing for our own objectives, and our objective is to step things up a notch, and then we can be fine in every game. Then we’ve got the individual quality for it. We’re ready to improve.”
Tuchel’s side also have the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Lazio to look forward to and the 50-year-old added: “We have a very attractive week ahead of us.
“A win for Leverkusen opens up a gap, but it won’t be over, although it feels like a special moment to lay your cards on the table. It’s about challenging ourselves and therefore the opponent from the first second to the last.
“We want to take the next step. Leverkusen are having an outstanding season. We’ve still got room for improvement. We feel ready to take the next step and want to push Leverkusen.”
Alphonso Davies remains sidelined with a tendon injury but Joshua Kimmich, Kim Min-jae and Dayot Upamecano have returned to training and are set to be in the matchday squad.
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who has been struggling with a knee problem, was set to take part in training on Friday before a decision is taken over whether he or Sven Ulreich will make the starting XI.
Kilmarnock assistant manager Paul Sheerin was key to one of the biggest Scottish Gas Scottish Cup shocks of all time and it remains a lesson ahead of Cove Rangers’ visit to Rugby Park.
The 49-year-old scored a clinching third goal from the spot for Inverness when their 3-1 defeat of Celtic on February 8, 2000, sent shockwaves across the nation and beyond, the victory eliciting the famous newspaper headline “Super Caley go ballistic, Celtic are atrocious.”
Derek McInnes’s side are in fine form, sitting in fourth place in the cinch Premiership but with first-hand knowledge of what can happen in cup football, Sheerin believes the Ayrshire outfit have to guard against becoming an unlikely victim when they take on Paul Hartley’s League One side on Saturday.
He said: “It is nice memories. It shows you what can happen and obviously upsets do happen.
“It was a momentous occasion for the club, they were relatively new to the league and that was part and parcel of the shock as well.
“There was belief because you always have to believe as players.
“I know Paul (Hartley) spoke about not feeling any real pressure which is understandable.
“At that time, Inverness had that mindset that there was no great pressure on us, no one expected us to do anything so that took the edge of it and we tried to enjoy it as much as we could, and obviously the way it worked out was something that nobody really expected.
“Cove will come here determined to be one of the clubs who cause an upset.
“We have done our work and hopefully that will stand us in good stead and not allow a shock tomorrow. Your attitude and application has to be spot on.
“We know what they will come with, we know shocks can happen but hopefully we will not allow that tomorrow.”
Corrie Ndaba returns after a two-game ban after being controversially sent off against Hibernian.
The defender initially saw yellow for a tackle on Jair Tavares before it was upgraded following a VAR check and it left McInnes fuming as the visitors came back to draw 2-2.
It was the 24-year-old’s first red card of his career, but he insists it will have no impact in the way he plays the game.
He said: “I was a bit surprised. I don’t think it was a red card, but the referee said from the follow-through, it was a red so there was not much I could do.
“It gets a bit technical these days. Obviously I got the ball first and the follow-through has gone into his ankle.
“I didn’t really have anywhere to put my leg, but the referee has decided to give me a red card so I have to take my medicine.
“I always tackle clean, that is the way I play so I am just going to play as normal.”
Centre-back Robbie Deas is recovering from a fractured cheekbone, while midfielders Brad Lyons and Kyle Magennis remain absent after respective cartilage and hamstring problems.
The Republic of Ireland and England will kick-off the next edition of the Nations League against each other in their first match competitive meeting since 1991.
The nations were drawn together in Paris on Thursday and UEFA has confirmed the pair will open Group B2 in Dublin on September 7.
The return fixture in England will take place on matchday six on November 17, with the pool completed by Finland and Greece.
These will be the first competitive fixtures between the Republic and England since a Euro 92 qualifier at Wembley. They have met in four friendlies since then, most recently in November 2020 at Wembley.
What the papers say
Manchester United have reportedly determined their ceiling for Brentford striker Ivan Toney. According to the Daily Star, the Red Devils value the 27-year-old at £70million, and will not be drawn into a bidding war should competition arise for Toney’s signature.
Elsewhere, the Daily Mirror says Arsenal scouts are keeping a close eye on Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams. The Gunners could chase Williams as an option to ease the pressure on Bukayo Saka, however the 21-year-old is also said to be attracting interest from a number of heavyweights including Real Madrid and Liverpool.
The Evening Standard reports AC Milan lead several Serie A sides in expressing interest in 23-year-old Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior.
Social media round-upPlayers to watch
Thomas Partey: Spanish outlet Fichajes says the Arsenal midfielder is being circled by Juventus.
Alphonso Davies: Real Madrid, Manchester City and Liverpool are all tracking the Bayern Munich left-back, according to the website HITC.
With members of last year’s senior Reggae Girlz FIFA World Cup squad and the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) still yet to amicably agree on the way forward, interim Head coach Xavier Gilbert has once again pooled a fairly inexperienced team for a two-match friendly against Chile later this month.
Gilbert, who welcomed the fixtures, and his Reggae Girlz is expected to assemble in the South American country on February 21, ahead the two games scheduled for February 23 and 27.
“It is always important to utilize the FIFA windows so getting these games is a good move from the JFF and, of course, we get to expose some of the young talent that we have to offer to top level competition so they can gain the necessary experience that will be required as we look ahead,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.
The 22-player squad comprises mostly players that contested last year’s Women’s Gold Cup qualifiers, with former Liverpool midfielder Jade Bailey, who recently signed with London City Lionesses, making a return to the national setup following a knee surgery, while National Under-17 representative Naya Cardoza, makes her transition to the senior team.
“It is very good to have Jade back she is a very good player who was out for quite some time, so it is good to have her back in the fold giving her level of experience and we expect her to be one of the leaders in the team where guiding the younger players is concerned,” Gilbert noted.
This will be the second two-match friendly series between the two teams following their 2019 meeting in Jamaica, which the Reggae Girlz won 1-0 and 3-2. However, Chile came away 6-0 winners in their most recent meeting at last year’s Pan American Games.
“We are expecting another good game from Chile, obviously they are a pretty good team with a lot to offer. It is never comfortable going into another team’s base to play, so we just have to go there and give of our best, because like I said, these games are important for players to not only gain experience, but also to develop some semblance of cohesion going forward,” Gilbert reasoned.
Squad: Theanna Burnett (Sacred Heart University), Serena Mensa (Fordham University), Malikae Dayes (AAB, Denmark), Zoe Vidaurre (George Mason University), Nevillegail Able (University of Maine, Fort Kent), Chinyelu Asher (SCU Torreense), Alika Keene (SK Slavia Praha Zeny), Ricshya Walker (LaSalle University), Marlo Sweatman (Viktoria Haladas), Christina Salmon (William Carey University), Davia Richards Player (Hill College),Mikayla Dayes (Rodez AF, France), Shaneil Buckley (Excelsior High), Melissa Johnson (Charlton Athletic Women FC), Aliyah Morgan (George Mason University), Jade Bailey (London City Lionessess), Destiny Powell (Excelsior High), Lachante Paul (Burnley FC), Isreala Groves (London City Lionesses), Naya Cardoza (Brown University), Njeri Butts (University Of Florida), Sydnie Street (Seneca College)
Gareth Southgate insists he is keeping an open mind about staying with England beyond Euro 2024 this summer.
The 53-year-old is under contract until December and accepts it is possible he may not even be in charge by the time England play Nations League matches against the Republic of Ireland, Greece and Finland in the autumn.
However, he insists his decision is not yet made either way and remains open to the possibility of staying on and working with England’s exciting crop of players, led by Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham.
“There’s a fair chance half the coaches won’t be here after the Euros. That’s international football,” he said at the draw in Paris.
“You’ve got to see how the summer goes. It’s as simple as that. In my view, I know what we’re capable of achieving in the summer, I know what my own benchmark of success would be, after that I’m not really thinking about anything else.
“Without a doubt it’s exciting to take the team, it’s always been exciting to take the team, whatever the strengths of the squad. In the end, we’ve got to deliver a performance and you’ve got to make the best decisions for everybody. I won’t be in a position to make that decision before the tournament.”
While Bellingham’s place in the squad appears certain barring injury, others seem to have a much bigger fight on their hands.
Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has hit the headlines recently after an unsanctioned trip to Belfast and Southgate insists all his players are being monitored on and off the field.
“We’re five weeks away from picking a squad, although so much happens to players over the period between November and March that we’re always sitting and observing everything on and off the pitch.”
The last competitive encounter between England and the Republic was a Euro 92 qualifier at Wembley, where a Niall Quinn goal cancelled out Lee Dixon’s opener.
A friendly match in 1995 at Lansdowne Road had to be abandoned due to crowd trouble and the teams’ most recent meeting was a November 2020 friendly.
England midfielder Declan Rice played three senior matches for the Republic before switching allegiance to England, while Manchester City star Jack Grealish also played for the Republic at under-age level.
Southgate said: “I have to say that I don’t know where we would have been without them. If we hadn’t had Declan over the past four years then I don’t know what we would have done.”
Football Association of Ireland director of football Marc Canham said of the draw: “It’s tough, but exciting, some amazing games and obviously we’re playing England for the first time in a while.
“It’s a great opportunity for our players and team and our amazing fans, an experience they can really look forward to.”
Wales will be up against Iceland, Montenegro and Turkey in Group B4.
Wales boss Rob Page said: “We know what Turkey are about (having played them in the Euro qualifiers last year). There are no easy games in international football but, with regards to the opposition, if we could have handpicked them we probably would have picked them.
“That’s no disrespect to them, but we want to give ourselves the best opportunity.”
Steve Clarke’s Scotland are up against Croatia, Portugal and Poland in Group A1.
Michael O’Neill’s Northern Ireland were drawn in Group C3, where they will take on Luxembourg, Bulgaria and Belarus.
O’Neill said: “I think they will be good games for the young squad that we have at the minute. It will be a test for them as part of their development as international players.”
The league phase will be played between September and October before League A quarter-finals and promotion/relegation play-offs take place in March 2025.
Single-leg semis and a final will be played in June 2025.
Adam Idah detailed his confidence from 12 yards after brushing off the pressure to net a stoppage-time winner on his first Celtic start.
The on-loan Norwich forward enjoyed a dream full debut as he scored penalties near the start and end of a 2-1 victory over Hibernian.
Celtic looked set to drop points for the second game running until Kyogo Furuhashi earned a penalty following Joe Newell’s late tackle, and Idah sent former Hoops goalkeeper David Marshall the wrong way for the second time in the game after switching sides.
The Republic of Ireland international, who has a 100 per cent record from the spot for club and country, said: “I have taken penalties my whole career and didn’t think much of it. I was confident enough I was going to score.
“That’s the mindset you have to have when you take penalties and thankfully it hit the back of the net.
“It was a bit crazy. It was an amazing feeling. To get the goal and the three points was fantastic and to do it in front of the away fans was unbelievable. To see their reaction and to get a last-minute goal was fantastic. I’m delighted with it.
“The main thing was to get the three points and it was a tough game but overall I’m proud of the lads.”
The 2-1 victory restored Celtic’s three-point lead over Rangers in the cinch Premiership and Idah’s penalty could prove crucial given the Light Blues have a game in hand.
Idah, who now has 10 goals for the season for Norwich, Ireland and Celtic, said: “It was a big game, a big three points and hopefully we can push on now and get more wins.
“One of my aims when I joined the club was to score goals. It’s the most goals I have scored in a season and it drives me and motivates me to push on and get more goals and get wins and hopefully help the team.”
Gareth Southgate admitted all England’s focus was on this summer’s European Championship as the Nations League draw pitted his team against the Republic of Ireland.
The two sides will meet competitively for the first time since March 1991 and are also up against Euro 2004 winners Greece plus Finland in Group B2.
The Nations League ties will be played in the autumn when Southgate could, depending on how the summer tournament in Germany goes, be out of the job, and he admitted it was difficult to see past the Euros at the moment.
“Our entire focus is on (the Euros),” he told Sky Sports.
“I know we’re here for a draw for a different competition but all we’re thinking about is our preparation for Germany and we’re really looking forward to the competition.
“We finished runners-up last time. We’ve been ranked in the top five in the world for four or five years so we know we have a good team.
“But we know in tournaments that on one day there are lots of good teams in Europe who can win matches against each other. There are also some other strong squads.”
The last competitive encounter between England and the Republic was a Euro 92 qualifier at Wembley, where a Niall Quinn goal cancelled out Lee Dixon’s opener.
A friendly match in 1995 at Lansdowne Road had to be abandoned due to crowd trouble and the teams’ most recent meeting was a November 2020 friendly.
Football Association of Ireland director of football Marc Canham said: “It’s tough, but exciting, some amazing games and obviously we’re playing England for the first time in a while.
“It’s a great opportunity for our players and team and our amazing fans, an experience they can really look forward to.”
Wales will be up against Iceland, Montenegro and Turkey in Group B4.
Wales boss Rob Page said: “We know what Turkey are about (having played them in the Euro qualifiers last year) – there are no easy games in international football but with regards to the opposition, if we could have handpicked them we probably would have picked them.
“That’s no disrespect to them, but we want to give ourselves the best opportunity.”
Steve Clarke’s Scotland are up against Croatia, Portugal and Poland in Group A1.
Michael O’Neill’s Northern Ireland were drawn in Group C3, where they will take on Luxembourg, Bulgaria and Belarus.
O’Neill said: “I think they will be good games for the young squad that we have at the minute. It will be a test for them as part of their development as international players.”
The league phase will be played between September and October before League A quarter-finals and promotion/relegation play-offs take place in March 2025.
Single-leg semis and a final will be played in June 2025.
England and the Republic of Ireland will meet competitively for the first time since 1991 in the next edition of the Nations League.
The English and the Republic are also up against Euro 2004 winners Greece and Finland in Group B2. They avoided a long trip to Kazakhstan under UEFA’s excessive travel restriction rules, with the former Soviet republic placed in Group B3 instead.
The last competitive encounter between England and the Republic was a Euro 92 qualifier at Wembley, where a Niall Quinn goal cancelled out Lee Dixon’s opener. A friendly match in 1995 at Lansdowne Road had to be abandoned due to crowd trouble, and the teams’ most recent meeting was a November 2020 friendly.
Wales will be up against Iceland, Montenegro and Turkey in Group B4.
Steve Clarke’s Scotland are up against Croatia, Portugal and Poland in Group A1.
Michael O’Neill’s Northern Ireland were drawn in Group C3, where they will take on Luxembourg, Bulgaria and Belarus.
The league phase will be played between September and October before League A quarter-finals and promotion/relegation play-offs take place in March 2025.
Single-leg semis and a final will be played in June 2025.
Conor Gallagher says Chelsea set the standard they have to reach with their FA Cup win at Aston Villa.
The midfielder scored his first goal of the season in Wednesday’s 3-1 fourth-round replay win.
Nicolas Jackson’s header and Enzo Fernandez’s sensational free kick helped the visitors to victory, despite Moussa Diaby’s injury-time consolation.
Chelsea, 11th in the Premier League, came into the game in disarray after 4-1 and 4-2 defeats to Liverpool and Wolves respectively and Gallagher knows they cannot let things drop.
“There was a lot of hunger and that’s what we need every game,” he said, with Chelsea hosting Leeds in the fifth round. “I think before the game you could sense that because the last two games have not been good enough by our standards.
“Everyone was really up for it and raring to give our fans a good performance and we did.
“We know how we can play – we showed that. A lot of times this season we haven’t been good enough, but also a lot of times we have been really good against the top teams so we know how good we can be.
“We’re really buzzing and Villa are a top team so to beat them, and the way we did it, was brilliant so we will take a lot of confidence from that, and hopefully take it into the next game.”
Gallagher’s 11th-minute opener was his first goal of the season, and first since last May.
“Obviously, I like to score goals and I want to score more,” he said. “This season I haven’t done so and hopefully I can get a few more.
“It was nice to get my goal and with it being my first of the season, it was really important to me. I think it helped us gain confidence in the game which helped us win, so I’m really happy.”
Villa suffered a second straight home defeat and boss Unai Emery is aiming for consistency with his side still challenging for Champions League qualification and in the Europa Conference League.
He said: “We had an opportunity in the FA Cup. It’s not easy and we are trying to be consistent, to increase our level and be a contender in each competition.
“We are facing matches like Chelsea and have to understand we are in our process. Our process is try to be consistent and get some regularity in our way. My objective is we have to feel confidence and comfortable at home even when we are not getting a good result.”
Hearts have handed Craig Gordon a one-year contract extension that will take him beyond his 42nd birthday.
The goalkeeper recently returned from a double leg break that deprived him of action for 12 months.
The 41-year-old Scotland international helped Hearts to a Scottish Cup win over Spartans last month and his comeback has been rewarded with a deal that ties him to Tynecastle until the summer of 2025.
Although Zander Clark has remained Hearts’ first-choice keeper through a run of nine unbeaten cinch Premiership games, the club were keen to tie Gordon up for another season.
Head coach Steven Naismith told the club’s website: “Firstly, and most importantly, he’s a fantastic goalkeeper. I see him in training every day and he continues to put in unbelievable performances. To see him come back into the team against Spartans was a special moment.
“Secondly, he’s a leader. He’s an influential figure in the dressing room, someone who has played at the top level both domestically and internationally.
“Younger players look up to him, so to know that he will be at the club for another 18 months to not only compete for the number one jersey but pass on his knowledge to others is a massive thing for this club.
“He’s the type of character this club needs in order to keep progressing because he knows exactly what it takes to be successful.”
Jack Butland’s performances for Rangers have caught the eye of the England set-up, with goalkeeping coach Martyn Margetson saying he is back “on the radar” ahead of the European Championship.
The 30-year-old goalkeeper moved to Ibrox at the start of the season after ending last season on loan at Manchester United from Crystal Palace.
Butland did not play a minute of competitive football for either club last term but has flourished since making a summer switch to the cinch Premiership giants.
Those displays for Rangers have caught the eye of Gareth Southgate’s team, with a diminished pool of in-form options potentially aiding his bid to return to the national team as Euro 2024 comes into focus.
“Jack is definitely on the radar, there’s no doubt,” England goalkeeping coach Margetson told Record Sport.
“I’ve been watching all of his games and I’ve been really pleased with how he’s performed. He’s doing himself a power of good.
“I get videos of all his Rangers appearances sent to me by the FA, so that gives me a chance to study all of Jack’s games.
“I then report back to Gareth but I’ve really liked what I’ve seen from Jack, particularly of late.
“It looks like he’s thought a lot about his game. I see a lot of things in there where I feel he’s really making the most of his experience to improve himself.
“You see it tactically in the positions he’s taking up and he’s in a really good place, so he’s doing himself a power of good.
“Anybody who is playing first-team football at a good level automatically comes into the reckoning, so all credit to Jack.
“He’s playing for a huge club and I know, having looked at his stuff, he’s doing well.
View this post on Instagram
“I’m not guaranteeing him that he’ll be in the squad but what I’m saying is that myself and Gareth are fully aware he’s doing a great job at Rangers.
“Jack’s job now is to keep that going. If he does, that will benefit Jack and it will benefit Rangers too.”
Butland won the last of his nine England caps in a friendly against Switzerland in September 2018, just months after going to the World Cup as back-up to Jordan Pickford.
The Everton sstopper remains Southgate’s number one ahead of the Euros, but recent back-ups Sam Johnstone and Aaron Ramsdale have fallen down the pecking order at their clubs.
Experienced Nick Pope is also out through injury, but James Trafford and Dean Henderson are other options as Southgate weighs up his selection for March’s friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.
“We are blessed with a number of very good goalkeepers in the England set-up,” Margetson added. “It’s not an easy decision and only three can go to the tournament.
“But it’s all up for grabs, if you pardon the pun! Jack can rest assured Gareth is across everything he’s doing and that’s because of his performances.
“If that gets him back into the England squad, it will be an amazing story and it will be credit to Jack.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
