Player Focus: Nathaniel Clyne's Chance to Shine for England

While it is difficult to say that England have been spoilt for choice in any position over the last couple of decades, the left side of midfield has always been highlighted as the most problematic. Finally, with the emergence of Raheem Sterling, it seems that England now have a player able to patrol that side, or one who is so good in the centre that he is forcing a change in formation to avoid having a left wing at all.

Meanwhile, since the days of Gary Neville, the right-back spot has provided a (somewhat less) considerable problem. Glen Johnson held down the position for a number of years but rather more through a lack of competition than any particularly impressive achievements of his own. It is a fair assertion that uninspiring performances by all involved in Roy Hodgson's squad in Brazil this summer has opened up our eyes to the inadequacies in the national team which we were perhaps slightly ignorant to. At right-back, those problems were as glaring as anywhere else.

Such has been Johnson's form that Brendan Rodgers has replaced him at Liverpool, and it is plainly time for him to be usurped at international level, too. Nathaniel Clyne's call up to the latest squad could barely be more welcome.

Granted, neither San Marino or Estonia will truly test any of England's players, but he deserves recognition for his contribution to Southampton's start to the season, just in the same way Graziano Pellè has been rightly rewarded by Antonio Conte with a first call up to the Azzurri squad in place of the out-of-sorts Mario Balotelli.

Clyne is yet another in a long line of impressive youngsters to come off the conveyor belt at Crystal Palace's esteemed academy, and he has arguably benefitted from a less sharp rise to prominence than those of, say, Wilfried Zaha or even Victor Moses. Given time to hone his skills without too much pressure to become the next big thing and thus no big-money, premature move to one of the country's top clubs, Clyne has blossomed.

That is not to say, however, that it is only now that Clyne has come good. He is now into his third full season as a Premier League regular, and he was (very marginally) ahead of Calum Chambers - who has become an England international since a move to Arsenal that boosted his reputation - in Mauricio Pochettino's plans at Southampton last term.

And what is so great about Clyne is that he, like Sterling, is a player who is genuinely exciting to watch. He is quick, and possesses a directness that has opposing defenders on the back foot whenever he attacks, which he does with frequency.

He averaged 1.1 key passes and 0.8 successful dribbles per game throughout the 2013/14 season under Pochettino and picked up 4 assists in just 20 starts as he shared right-back duties with Chambers. This season, his key passes and dribbles are both down to 0.4 per game, with new Saints boss Ronald Koeman asking less of him going forwards. However, he scored a fantastic goal at Anfield and has been done a great deal to contribute to keeping the best defensive record in the Premier League this season. Southampton have just 5 goals conceded in 7 games so far. They are the only team conceding, on average, less than 1 goal per game.

Clyne's 30 tackles is the second-most in the top flight behind only Mile Jedinak (36), while the right-back has also made 10 interceptions and 19 clearances, and he has, quite incredibly given how committed he is in attempting to win the ball back, given away only 4 fouls in 10 and a half hours of action this season. Previously thought of as more of an attacking threat from deep than a reliable defender, Clyne has developed the defensive side of his game this season.

However, he remains an attacking threat, and in the 4-3-1-2 formation that Hodgson looks to be settling upon and ready to use for the duration of the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign (to accommodate Sterling and two forwards), full-backs that work the flanks tirelessly are a necessity to provide the team's width. Only 3 right-backs have attempted more crosses in the Premier League this season than Clyne (17), and afforded greater freedom in an England team facing inferior opposition throughout qualifying, the Southampton defender could thrive.

Leighton Baines has the left-back berth nailed down and Gary Cahill will be a guaranteed starter right the way through 2016, but uncertainty surrounds the other defensive positions in the England team. Clyne has been knocking on the door for a long time now and has the chance to show everyone what he can do this week. In the squad with only one other right-back in Chambers, it will be something of a throwback to last season at St Mary's, and while Chambers has since moved on to bigger and better things, it remains Clyne - the elder and more experienced of the two - who should be ahead of him in the pecking order.

We are not going to learn too much about England's players in the upcoming duo of qualifiers due to the opposition at hand, but Clyne has the chance to impress Hodgson at training sufficiently to prove that it is time to look his way in future squad selections, too. It has been a long time coming, but Clyne is rightfully being given a shot at becoming first-choice right-back for England for the coming years.

Do you think Clyne should be England's right-back? Let us know in the comments below