ADAM FORSHAW admits he would have been “shocked” if he had been included in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for this week’s matches against Scotland and Spain, and the Middlesbrough midfielder is determined not to allow international speculation to distract him from his duties at the Riverside.

Forshaw has been the surprise success story of Middlesbrough’s season, with his performances since breaking into the side on the opening day of the campaign leading to speculation last week suggesting Southgate was considering a surprise call-up to the England squad.

In the end, that didn’t happen, with the interim England manager instead recalling Jack Wilshere following his successful loan move to Bournemouth, but having watched Forshaw at first hand in last month’s 2-0 win over the Cherries, Southgate is known to be a strong admirer of the 25-year-old.

Forshaw was aware of the stories linking him with a possible England place, and also read Aitor Karanka’s words last week in which the Boro head coach strongly endorsed his international credentials.

He is flattered to be linked with a possible call-up, even if he accepts it would have been a huge surprise given that he only made nine Championship starts in the whole of last season as he found himself behind Adam Clayton and Grant Leadbitter in the Boro pecking order.

However, with Southgate now not due to name another squad until the end of March, when England will face Germany in a friendly and Lithuania in a World Cup qualifier, he is determined to ensure his focus remains completely fixed on his domestic responsibilities.

“I would have been shocked if I’d got the call because I’ve obviously not played that many games in the Premier League,” said Forshaw, who was one of Boro’s stand-out performers yet again as they drew 1-1 at Manchester City last weekend.

“There’s a lot of experienced players out there. I’m just trying to focus on doing as well as I possibly can for Middlesbrough, and then I’ll see where that takes me.

“It was really nice to hear the manager saying the things that he said, but I just need to concentrate on playing as well as I can for Middlesbrough. I want to help the club pick up as many points as we can, and I know it’s a bit boring, but I don’t really want to look beyond that.”

Forshaw’s focus is commendable, and can be explained by just how hard he has had to work to establish himself in the Premier League.

Regarded as one of the most talented youngsters in the country when he was breaking through at Everton, he had to drop down to League One and the Championship for spells at Brentford and Wigan Athletic before moving on to Boro.

His first 18 months as a Boro player were fairly unremarkable, but he has really come to the fore this season, with his energy, work rate and astute passing enabling him to look perfectly at home in the Premier League.

“I’m loving it,” he said. “I’m living the dream of playing in the Premier League. I’ve got myself back here and I just want to stay here for a long time with Middlesbrough now.

“I really am enjoying my time here, and it’s days when you go and get a draw at Manchester City that you really do appreciate where you’ve got to.”

Forshaw is not the only Boro midfielder to have narrowly missed out on international duty this week as Marten de Roon was also in contention for a place in the Holland squad, only to have been overlooked by Dutch head coach Danny Blind.

Blind needed a replacement for the injured Kevin Strootman as he pondered his squad for a friendly with Belgium, but opted for Heerenveen’s Stijn Schaars rather than de Roon, who scored his first Boro goal in the 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium.

Blind has been closely monitoring de Roon’s performances since he made a €12m move to Teesside, and says the 25-year-old has to improve with the ball at his feet before he will consider him for an international place.

“I’m talking about a difference in football power (between de Roon and Schaars),” said Blind. “De Roon is watched frequently, and he is a great lad to have in your team.

“He sacrifices himself and thinks about the team’s interest, but in possession he is too flat and too reserved. I don’t find that’s the case with Schaars.”

Meanwhile, Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma is set to return to first-team action in his side’s game at Middlesbrough on November 20 after featuring in the Blues’ Checkatrade Trophy draw with Oxford United on Tuesday.