Brighton players pushing for England call-up
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler believes three Brighton stars could be picked for England by Thomas Tuchel.
The German will name his squad for the two March friendlies against Uruguay and Japan, which will give a major hint to his World Cup selections for this summer.
Danny Welbeck was perhaps the Brighton player with the best chance, but Hurzeler added two other names to the equation - reserve goalkeeper Jason Steele and midfielder Jack Hinshelwood.
Jordan Pickford is the likely England No 1 but Hurzeler believes Steele could offer reliable back-up - as he has at Brighton with his role as Bart Verbruggen's understudy.
The Albion boss also feels England under-21 Hinshelwood is capable of stepping up to the senior squad this summer.
Hurzeler, speaking ahead of Brighton’s Premier League clash against Liverpool, said: “I think Danny is performing well, Danny is in good shape.
“I think it's not only Danny, I also want to emphasise that we still have a great second goalkeeper, Jason Steele.
“Who is also, though he's not playing in incredible shape, when I see him training every day it's just impressive, and every time we need him he's there.
“He showed really good performances in the FA Cup game, so therefore he's a really good candidate as well.”
Hinshelwood has England under-21 experience
Hinshelwood also has the experience of performing well for England under-21s during last summer’s triumphant European Championships.
Hurzeler added: “I also like Jack Hinshaw at the moment, so there are several players from us who might have the opportunity to play for England.
“I 100 per cent know they all would be very proud playing for their country, but let's see what happens.”
When asked about what qualities Danny Welbeck could bring to an England set-up and a summer World Cup campaign, Hurzeler added: “Yesterday, I think our German coach Julian Nagelsmann had a press conference talking about Pascal Gross, talking about his phrase in Germany.
“He's the longer arm from the coach and he makes players around him better, and I think that's 100 per cent also the phrase I would give to Danny Welbeck.
“He can be a longer arm for the coach in a different way, what I mean by a different way than Pascal is, Pascal is more into the game regarding tactics and Danny Welbeck is an unbelievably great connector.
“He can connect different ages, he can connect different cultures, and I think that's something that really helps the coach, especially when it comes to the World Cup.
“To bring the different ages together, to make sure everyone is aligned, to make sure the team is going in the right direction.
“I think therefore he's blessed with some unbelievable skills. I like to talk about Danny beside the pitch, but I also like to talk about Danny on the pitch, a hard worker, scoring goals.”
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