WHEN he was manager of England Under-21s, Gareth Southgate spoke passionately about the need for a pathway from the junior set-up to the senior squad.

Now he is in charge of the seniors, the interim England boss needs to live up to his words. Middlesbrough defender Ben Gibson should be part of the squad that Southgate names on Sunday to face Scotland in a World Cup qualifier and Spain in a home friendly.

With the Football Association due to make a decision over Southgate’s permanent future in the wake of next week’s double-header, there is clearly a need for the former Boro boss to achieve a pair of positive results. The Scotland game is the key one – win that next Friday, and not only will England have a half a foot in the World Cup finals, but Southgate will also be an even stronger favourite to succeed Sam Allardyce on a full-time basis.

However, as well as pursuing a pair of victories, Southgate should also be using the next week to lay down a marker for what he wants his England set-up to look like. And if he is serious about encouraging and promoting youth, Gibson is exactly the type of player he should be championing.

Previously a regular at Under-21 level, with three appearances at the European Under-21 Championships under his belt, the centre-half was first touted for a potential England call-up before Allardyce selected his squad to face Slovakia at the start of the season.

I remember chatting with Gibson at Rockliffe Park in the build-up to Middlesbrough’s win over Sunderland, and when the subject of England was raised, the Teessider played the classic deflection tactic of steering the discussion back to Boro and their attempts to stabilise in the top-flight. Yet, even at that stage, the prospect of a maiden senior call-up clearly didn’t faze him.

To be fair, at the time I thought it was much too early. Gibson had played one game in the Premier League, and last season, it was he rather than Daniel Ayala who found himself dropped to the bench if Aitor Karanka decided he wanted to tinker with his back four.

Fast forward a couple of months though, and while it can still be argued that Gibson lacks experience after just ten top-flight matches, the quality of his performances since the start of the season is unarguable.

He has been Boro’s most consistent player by a distance, and was particularly impressive as he marked Alexis Sanchez out of the game in his side’s goalless draw at the Emirates. He has handled everything that has been thrown at him by a succession of Premier League sides, and developed leadership skills that have enabled him to emerge as the head of Boro’s back four.

In the past, questions have been asked about Gibson’s distribution and reliability with the ball at his feet. Southgate himself raised those issues when he was quizzed about the Teessider ahead of England Under-21s’ visit to the Riverside in March 2015.

At the beginning of his career, Gibson could be rushed and panicked in possession, but he has clearly worked on that aspect of his play closely, and now looks accomplished when attempting to play out from the back. The step up to international level would present additional challenges, but on all available evidence, the 23-year-old looks capable of taking it in his stride.

Calum Chambers, with three senior England caps to his name, has done well since breaking into Boro’s starting line-up this season. Gibson, however, has been consistently better.

That still might not be enough to merit a call-up were England to boast a string of in-form centre-halves, but as a succession of major tournaments have proved, the cupboard is just about bare when it comes to top-class central defenders.

John Stones might be the future, but Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka are surely the past. Chris Smalling stands somewhere in the middle, but Southgate was forced to call up Burnley’s Michael Keane to flesh out his squad for last month’s games against Malta and Slovenia.

Keane is at a similar stage of his development to Gibson, and is another player Southgate has worked with closely at Under-21 level. But while the Burnley defender is unlikely to be jettisoned on Sunday, that should not be a barrier to Gibson also being called up.

Adam Forshaw’s name has also been mentioned in connection to England this week, but a call-up for the midfielder would seem a little premature. Yes, he has been a revelation since coming off the bench on the first day of the season, but he barely kicked a ball in the Championship last season.

Gibson, on the other hand, was an integral part of Boro’s promotion push and has continued progressing in the Premier League. If Southgate’s rhetoric about rewarding talented youngsters is to mean anything, Gibson should be spending next week preparing for England’s eagerly-awaited encounter with Scotland at Wembley.


**


THERE is a very real risk that the ongoing row about whether England and Scotland’s players can wear a poppy emblem during their game on November 11 will overshadow what Remembrance Day is supposed to be about.

Lest we forget, the day is supposed to be about remembering and honouring those who have died in the line of duty. It is not supposed to be about empty posturing in an attempt to prove that the English and Scottish FAs are in line with public opinion.

If the two organisations are really serious about supporting the Poppy appeal and doing what they can to honour and support those who have fallen, why don’t they donate ten per cent of the match proceeds to the British Legion?

And if the players from the two teams are genuinely concerned about those who are being remembered, why don’t they donate their match fee or a proportion of their weekly wages to veterans’ organisations in England and Scotland?

That would be of more practical use to the families of the war dead, and those who have been injured in conflict, than the current clamour to wear the image of a poppy.