Joe Ellis

Sun 17 April 2022 15:01, UK

After he scored away at Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday, Craig Dawson was shining again for West Ham in the first half against Burnley.

The English defender wasn’t diverting the ball into the back of the net this time but rather it was his passing ability that was catching the eye on a sunny afternoon in the capital.

The 31-year-old sprayed a Paul Scholes-esque diagonal ball a good 60 yards into the path of Croatian winger Nikola Vlasic who took it down without having to break stride but he couldn’t convert it into a goal.

SuperSport pundit Matt Holland, a former central midfielder himself, loved Dawson’s long-range pass having already done it earlier in the contest at the London Stadium.

“Wonderful ball from Craig Dawson; he’s hit a couple of those in the opening seven minutes,” Holland said on SuperSport [17 April, 14:25].

England potential

Giving a first international cap to a 31-year-old might not be the fashionable choice but no one can deny the fact that Dawson has been one of the best English defenders anywhere in the world this season.

With the possible exception of AC Milan’s Fikayo Tomori, maybe there hasn’t been a single player who can rival Dawson’s 2021/22 campaign.

One area of his game that some weren’t convinced about was his ability to play out from the back but this pass, and many others he’s done this season, should quash those worries.

Gareth Southgate already has his trusted players at the back such as John Stones, Harry Maguire and even Tyrone Mings but none of those can boast a run of form like our man can.

For David Moyes, he’ll hope Southgate does look elsewhere for his defensive numbers to hopefully reduce the workload on the 31-year-old with such a hectic schedule planned.

In other West Ham news, Robbie Savage is expecting these European heavyweights to enter the race for one Hammers star.

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