Jack Wilshere sees bright future for England despite concerns over lack of talent

Roy Hodgson has complained about the small pool of players he has to call on

Agency
Wednesday 04 September 2013 11:00 EDT
Comments
Theo Walcott is not too concerned ahead of England's games against Moldova and Ukraine despite both Jack Wilshere and Daniel Sturridge missing training today
Theo Walcott is not too concerned ahead of England's games against Moldova and Ukraine despite both Jack Wilshere and Daniel Sturridge missing training today (GETTY IMAGES)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Jack Wilshere insists the future is bright for English football.

The debate about the paucity of young English players making the grade at the top level has intensified in recent weeks.

England boss Roy Hodgson has claimed he has only a pool of around 30 or 40 international-class players to choose from and only a fraction of the record £630million that was spent by Barclays Premier League clubs during the summer transfer went on British players.

The days of the 'golden generation' are long gone, and even though he is 21-years-old, Wilshere is often seen as the only player of the current crop capable of becoming a genuine world-class player.

He denies that is the case, however.

"There is a lot of pressure, but I think it's not just me - there are a lot of other players such as Tom Cleverley and Jack Rodwell who are all gifted players who bring hope to England in the future," the Arsenal midfielder told Zapsportz.com.

Although injuries have disrupted his international career, Wilshere has excelled whenever called upon by England.

It did not take long for him to be labelled the next Paul Gascoigne, but he has no problems dealing with the pressure that comes with such a tag.

"Although it's a lot of pressure, I think that's part of playing football and being part of the England team and people expect you to deliver," he said.

"You have to live with the pressure and the criticism if you don't deliver."

PA

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in