Stuart Pearce told talkSPORT Breakfast on Wednesday morning that ‘I don’t think the door is shut to anybody’ after he was asked whether Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa can earn an England call later on this month.
Pearce, who is on West Ham’s backroom staff, has briefly walked the touchline as the Three Lions boss, so he knows the difficulty of selecting players.
Gareth Southgate has a serious dilemma on his hands, with Villa’s thriving centre-back hoping to join Tyrone Mings and Jack Grealish at St George’s Park this month.
Pearce was asked about the in-form Konsa potentially getting a call-up for the first time, as the West Ham coach issued this response.
“I don’t think the door is shut to anybody,” said Pearce. “Certainly at this stage.
“I think a good indicator will be the next squad that he picks, and on top of that, it’s the injury situation. Anything on and beyond the international break has no recovery time at all.
“But it will be interesting to see. One thing Gareth has done is left the door open for anybody who shows good form. It’s not a closed shop there.”
Whilst Mings has been outstanding for Villa this season, or since football restarted after the first lockdown, his performances have been rewarded with several England call ups.
Yet it could be argued that since football returned in June, Konsa has outperformed his partner in B6 and is, therefore, perhaps more deserving of that call-up for his country.
Either way, Konsa will be within touching distance of earning that call if Southgate hasn’t already decided that he will be in his next squad.
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