Celtic Fan View: Can Patrick Roberts become an England international?

When Gareth Southgate was asked about the possibility of selecting Celtic’s Scott Sinclair for the latest England squad, his response was pretty damning of a player who is arguably in the form of his life. Southgate said: “He’s a good player but we have good quality in that area of the pitch. At the moment I think he is just below the level of what we have already got.”

If the likes of Jesse Lingard, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Fabian Delph and Jake Livermore are considered to be standard-bearers for the Three Lions, then it pretty much sums up their pitiful performances on the international stage.

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A typical arrogance exists among the England selection committee when it comes to considering Celtic players. Just ask Chris Sutton, Alan Thompson, Fraser Forster and now, of course, Sinclair. All have been doubted because they play in Glasgow while Rickie Lambert, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Andros Townsend have remarkably accumulated more than 50 caps between them.

It therefore begs the question: Would England let one of their most talented individuals in Patrick Roberts suffer the same way if he chose to don a green and white jersey on a permanent basis?

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Watching England is a chore most of the time and, if anything, they’re getting worse. The performance against Slovenia in midweek was one of the most drab in recent times, devoid of soul, excitement and technical quality. So much so that a paper plane got the biggest cheer of the night from the 62,000 Wembley crowd.

Of course, while there is a relevant question to be asked about the standard of Scottish football, the talent and form Sinclair and Roberts are showing shouldn’t be dismissed so easily. Would Sinclair really be worse than the standard England displayed on Thursday?

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Roberts, meanwhile, is one of British football’s gems, a natural talent who debunks the myth that the country only produces physical and athletic players. Having represented England at under-16 level through to the under-20s a call-up to the senior side would be a natural progression rather than a left-field inclusion.

Over the last 18 months Roberts has wowed the Parkhead faithful with his Messi-like dribbles, a drop of the shoulder here, a nutmeg there, incisive through passes and a contribution on the goals front. And as the 20-year-old showed against Rangers and Anderlecht before the international break, he has the ability to perform under intense pressure.

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Although it’s a little early to expect a breakthrough, if Roberts continues his progression under the tutelage of an excellent coach in Brendan Rodgers, more and more questions would have to be asked about an inclusion in the near future. That process would likely be accelerated if Roberts was playing in England or elsewhere in Europe but any potential selection shouldn’t be solely conditioned by the league he plays in. A better yardstick would be his performances in the Champions League, given he’s one the few Englishman actually playing in the competition.

That thought may linger in Roberts’ head when it comes to deciding his future at the end of the campaign. It’s very possible that he makes his loan move to Glasgow permanent in 2018 and based on talent, form and progression, playing for Celtic shouldn’t prevent him from becoming a full international sooner rather than later.