Jay Rodriguez could find himself in an England squad very soon if rumours from within the camp are true.
It appears that Jay Rodriguez recent good form not only in scoring goals but creating them as well hasnt gone unoticed and the talk around the England camp is that Roy Hodgson may well call him up to the England squad in the near future.
ll the cry from Saints supporters has been about Rickie Lambert for England, but whilst that clamour has been going on Jay Rodriguez has been the man in form and starting to justify why Saints made him their then record signing in the summer.
Those that wonder why J Rod may get the call and Rickie Lambert probably wont despite some great performances this season from the number 7, may wonder why this is the case and many will cite age as the reason.
But whilst Rickie's age will be a big factor and the truth is that few players earn their first cap after 30, although its not completely unheard of, ex Saint Kevin Davies for example, its not just about age why Rodriguez might get the nod while Rickie wont, to be blunt Rodriguez has a lot more in his locker than Lambert and perhaps the most important part of that locker in respect to an England cap is pace and mobility.
Perhaps the strangest thing though if he does get called up is that J Rod will have done so being played out of position, in truth he is more of an out and out striker, here he isnt playing in a central role or even as one of a two man attack, but is utilised from out wide to augment the attack when neccessary.
This will bring on interesting choices for Pochettino next season, there will come a time when Rodriguez will be the better choice for that lone striking role and that might not be liked by many Saints supporters, at the moment Rodriguez has almost got in the side by default, if Ramirez had produced the goods and Lallana and Puncheon had been either fit in the case of Lallana or consistent in the latter's case, then Rodriguez might have been on the bench a lot more, at the moment its been a case of playing a square peg in a round hole, its worked in the short term, but in the long, if we are going to play the system that both the club and the manager seem to favour, then that involves having in the right players in the right positions and in the case of 4-5-1 that is having fast wide men who can not only attack but defend.
But for the moment its about J Rod and there is no doubt that he has the quality for the Premier League, and to end on a controversial note, he has done it out of position, how good would he be if playing as the lone striker, I dont think the time is right now, Rickie Lambert is in excellent form, the formation is working, but if a team has to improve it has to play its best players in their best positions, the only question perhaps is when will J Rod be considered the best choice for the lone spot up front, if Saints spend big in the summer and bring in the right players it could be next season.