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Hoddle confident of Barkley and Wilshere returns for England

20-20 Football Technical Director Glenn Hoddle during the press conference (Reuters)
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The Arsenal and Everton midfielders have both been left out by Sam Allardyce.

England manager Sam Allardyce during the press conferenceEngland manager Sam Allardyce during the press conference

Former England manager Glenn Hoddle has told the Daily Mail he is hopeful Jack Wilshere and Ross Barkley can force their way back into the current setup.

Sam Allardyce named his first England squad on Sunday for the international clashes this week.

There were not many changes from the squad named by his predecessor Roy Hodgson, but there were some notable changes.

The biggest was arguably the absence of Everton star Barkley, who was overlooked during Euro 2016 this summer.Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere was another one left out.

Everton's Ross Barkley looks dejectedEverton’s Ross Barkley looks dejected

Both will be disappointed by the snub, but Hoddle says he is sure Allardyce will want them in future squads.

“I know some people will see it as a regressive step that Sam Allardyce has dropped these two creative players in his first squad. But I don’t,” he told the Daily Mail.

“I’m pretty sure that Sam will want to incorporate them into future squads. I’m hopeful that they can play their way into the team. I don’t believe that we’ve seen the best of Wilshere and Barkley.”

Arsenal's Jack Wilshere looks dejectedArsenal’s Jack Wilshere looks dejected

Of the two players, Ross Barkley is arguably the one who can feel most aggrieved about missing out on this squad.

He may have struggled for consistency last season, but the decision to completely overlook him at Euro 2016 has been widely accepted to be a poor one.

He has started this season strongly under Ronald Koeman since then, and should feel that this snub was worse than in the summer, especially given Allardyce’s claims he would pick players based on form.

Everton's Ross Barkley celebrates scoring their first goalEverton’s Ross Barkley celebrates scoring their first goal