Southampton striker Charlie Austin was not picked to be part of Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad, despite his fine form.
Former West Ham United star Tony Cottee admitted that he cannot understand why Charlie Austin has once again been omitted from the England squad, when speaking live on Sky Sports Now at 10:15 this morning.
Gareth Southgate named his Three Lions squad on Sunday for their upcoming internationals against Scotland and Spain, and many fans and pundits were surprised by the Southampton star not receiving a call-up.
Tony Cottee
The 27-year-old has been in fine form for the Saints this season, scoring eight goals since September – more than Harry Kane, Daniel Sturridge, Marcus Rashford and Jamie Vardy combined during the same period.
Cottee, who received seven caps for his country during his playing days, told Sky Sports how he is a big fan of Austin, and was amazed by his exclusion from the squad:
“I’m a huge Charlie Austin fan, he’s a goalscorer, he’s in form, and he deserves to be at the squad. You can see he’s full of confidence when he’s leading the line. He’s a striker who can play up there on his own, that is what he does, he does it for Southampton, and I think he should have been in the squad. As i’ve said, you should pick players on form.”
Southampton’s Charlie Austin celebrates
The former Queens Park Rangers striker must be wondering what he has to do to force his way into the England fold.
Now would have seemed like his best chance, with so many English strikers suffering through either a lack of form, injury problems, or a mixture of the two.
All he can do is keep performing for his club, and if he does that, surely his chance will not be too far away.
Southampton’s Charlie Austin
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