West Ham United ace Aaron Cresswell making late World Cup bid
Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad may be on course for some late changes as injuries begin to pile up but this West Ham ace could save the day.
Aaron Cresswell is enjoying something of a purple patch at the London Stadium right now and, as a result, was named in SofaScore’s October team of the month in Europe’s top five leagues.
They rated the 32-year-old’s performances over the past 31 days at a 7.48, level with Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, to make him the best left-back across the continent on form.
Southgate will be well aware of the Irons man’s form at the moment and it may have come at the perfect time too as Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell hobbled off in the Champions League on Wednesday (2 November).
The Blues man was a shoo-in for the Three Lions’ final squad but went down clutching his hamstring and was seen leaving Stamford Bridge on crutches after the game, as per the BBC.
Luke Shaw of Manchester United will therefore be the first-choice left-back for England but there is a space behind him if Chilwell does not make the plane to Qatar, which is looking unlikely right now.
Cresswell’s age might not tempt Southgate as much as he should be given how well he is playing but that is the only hurdle he has to overcome.
His only real challenger in the Premier League would probably be Rico Henry at Brentford who does have age on his side but experience could prove vital at this tournament and there is no comparison between the two in that department.
West Ham may prefer he doesn’t go so he can be fully refreshed for the restart of the Premier League but this may well be the final chance for Cresswell to go to a World Cup so he will be doing everything he can to make it there and rightly so.