Jesse Lingard has revealed Gareth Southgate pointed him down the path towards an England recall.
Southgate will take charge of his 50th game when England begin their World Cup qualifying campaign against San Marino at Wembley on Thursday.
His first, against Malta in October 2016, was also Lingard's international debut and the attacking midfielder became one of Southgate's key performers as England charted a surprise run to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
However, struggles for form and fitness at Manchester United, along with difficulties in his private life, saw Lingard fall out of the Three Lions picture.
In January he joined West Ham on loan and has been a player revitalised.
Five goals in seven Premier League appearances for David Moyes' men earned an England recall for the 28-year-old, who thanked Southgate for his counsel and his influence over the Hammers move.
"He's shown a lot of support and belief in me, he gave me my England debut, which I'm proud of," Lingard told talkSPORT.
"I still kept in contact with him even though I wasn't playing, just to get his advice on what I should do.
"It was just about the right move, whether it was going out to Europe or staying in the Premier League.
"He said, 'If I was you, I would stay in the Premier League'. After that, it was about finding a Premier League side and West Ham fitted in perfectly."
Since his West Ham debut against Aston Villa on February 3, only Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho (six) has more Premier League goals than Lingard (five), while he is level with England captain Harry Kane and Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan over the period in question.
His 12 shots on target are a joint Premier League best along with Kane, giving him a shot conversion rate of 23.8.
Lingard also has two assists for the Hammers and has created eight opportunities for team-mates overall.
Another man in from the cold, although less dramatically, is Manchester City centre-back John Stones.
Like Lingard, Stones was a mainstay at Russia 2018 but last played for England in November 2019 after his club form dwindled.
However, a supreme centre-back alliance with Ruben Dias for Premier League leaders City made a recall for the 26-year-old a virtual formality – not that he necessarily viewed it that way.
"It was difficult watching from home," Stones told reporters, having also acknowledged Southgate "texted now and then" when he was out of favour.
"You feel a bit helpless that you can't contribute and be a part of the squad, but I used it as a motivation to strive to be better.
"When I got the text the other day, it was a great feeling to be back involved and see all the faces I've got some great memories with.
"I was very nervous. I had worked so hard and I was hearing people say, 'you should be in'.
"But I didn't take any of that in until the text arrived. I wanted to hear from the source. I was absolutely made up."
City remaining in contention for four major honours shows how impressive their overall performances have been this season, but with Stones in the team their record verges on the absurd.
In 20 games where the former Everton defender has not played, Pep Guardiola's men have won 13, drawn five and lost two for a 65 per cent win rate. In these games they conceded 19 times.
Out of Stones' 26 appearances, City have won 24 alongside a draw and a loss and have conceded only seven times. This tallies to 0.3 goals against and 2.8 points per game and a win percentage of 92.3.
Daniele De Rossi staying on as Roma boss
Roma have confirmed that head coach Daniele De Rossi will remain in charge of the club for “the foreseeable future”.
De Rossi, 40, who spent 18 years as a player with the Giallorossi, was appointed in January after the sacking of Jose Mourinho.
Roma have climbed from ninth to fifth in Serie A under the 40-year-old, who initially signed a short-term deal until June.
In a statement on the club’s website, Roma owners Dan and Ryan Friedkin said: “After meeting yesterday afternoon with Daniele De Rossi, we are delighted to announce he will continue as head coach of AS Roma after this season and for the foreseeable future.
“In his short tenure as head coach, the positive impact that his leadership has brought to the entire club has told its own story.
“Daniele leads with respect and courage, while his strength and deep-rooted belief in the club are truly aligned with Roma’s values, city and unparalleled fans.
“We will continue to work together as hard as we possibly can to deliver a future that AS Roma’s fans deserve.
“We couldn’t be happier to build a long-term project with Daniele.
“Further details to follow in the coming days.”
Barcelona fined for racist behaviour of fans at Paris St Germain
Barcelona have been fined 25,000 euros (£21,400) by UEFA for racist behaviour by their fans during the Champions League quarter-final first-leg tie at Paris St Germain.
Three charges were brought against Barca following the fixture at Parc des Princes on April 10, which included acts of damage and lighting of fireworks.
UEFA’s Appeals Body announced on Thursday Barcelona will be fined for the racist behaviour of their fans and will be banned from selling tickets to their away supporters for the Spanish club’s next UEFA competition match.
That ticket ban has been suspended for a probationary period of one year, which started from the date of the present decision.
Barcelona must also pay a 2,000 euro fine for lighting fireworks and a further 5,000 euro fine for acts of damage.
After Barca won the first leg 3-2 in Paris, they lost 4-1 in the second leg at home this week to exit the Champions League 6-4 on aggregate.
Harry Kane savours Champions League ‘war’ with England team-mate Jude Bellingham
Harry Kane is ready to go into battle against Jude Bellingham for a spot in the Champions League final before the pair aim to lead England to Euro 2024 glory.
England captain Kane moved to Bayern Munich from Tottenham last year while Bellingham left Borussia Dortmund to join Real Madrid.
Both helped their respective clubs to Champions League quarter-final wins over Premier League sides on Wednesday night as Bayern beat Arsenal and Real saw off Manchester City on penalties. Bellingham scored in that shoot-out while Kane netted a first-leg spot-kick at the Emirates Stadium.
Those wins tee up a mouth-watering semi-final clash between two clubs who have won 20 European Cups between them.
Despite Arsenal and City being eliminated, meaning the first semi-final line-up since 2020 with no Premier League clubs, Kane believes there will still be plenty of English interest in how he and Bellingham fare.
“Jude has had a fantastic season, he’s a top player,” he said.
“I’m really happy for him but it will be another war against his team – but that’s the experiences that we both went abroad to try to achieve, to play in these big nights in the Champions League, to play in these big semi-finals.
“It will be one to enjoy and I’m sure there will be a lot of English fans watching both of us. We have to focus on ourselves. Of course, I’ll say hello but once we’re on the pitch, it’s business.”
Kane is still yet to win a major trophy in his career and also has the added incentive of the Champions League final taking place at Wembley on June 1, with either Dortmund or Paris St Germain awaiting the winner of Real and Bayern.
“For both of us, for sure,” Kane replied when asked if Wembley is the dream for him and Bellingham.
“With Wembley being our national stadium, it’s extra motivation there for us but there are two games ahead of us before that, which are going to be really tough so we have to focus on that.
“Real Madrid are a big club with amazing history in the Champions League so it’s going to be a really difficult game for us.
“But that’s what the semi-finals of the Champions League are all about, the biggest teams, so we enjoy this tonight and then prepare for that game in a couple of weeks.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
