Sam Allardyce to give shock England call-up to Middlesbrough defender

Sam Allardyce is set to hand Middlesbrough defender Ben Gibson a shock England call-up before the end of the year, according to The Independent.

Gibson, 23, has been a mainstay in the Boro team since emerging from the youth academy in the last three years having endured four separate loan spells prior to returning to his boyhood club in 2013.

Allardyce is reportedly a long-standing admirer of Gibson and wants the central defender to provide competition for places with Gary Cahill, John Stones and Chris Smalling.

Crucially, Gibson is left-footed and could provide balance to the back four where there is a dearth of naturally left-footed English players at the moment.

The England manager is reportedly tracking Gibson’s progress with a view to calling him up to the squad for their two upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia at the start of October or in November when England face Scotland and Spain.

Gibson has featured in all five of Middlesbrough’s league matches this season, with only Adam Forshaw completing his passes with greater success (90.6%) at the club (Gibson – 89.7%).

For more stats on Ben Gibson, click here to visit his WhoScored player page