Player Focus: Is Jack Cork Deserving of an England Call Up?

“I was surprised a little bit he was available,” Garry Monk confessed after Swansea wrapped up a £3m deal to sign Jack Cork from Southampton at the end of January. The 25-year-old had an offer on the table from Saints to extend his stay at the club and Ronald Koeman even requested a meeting in one last attempt to convince Cork to remain at the club.
 
Cork turned down Koeman’s requests, however, and instead packed his bags and made the three-hour drive west down the M4 and across the River Severn to sign for Swansea.
 
“He’s got good experience at this level and he is a British player, which is good,” Monk continued. “He has a Chelsea background as well so he has got good pedigree, and he is at a good age to develop into a top midfielder.”
 
The Carshalton-born midfielder spent 13 years at the Premier League champions after joining them as a nine-year-old in 1998. In that time, Cork, like the majority of the youngsters to come through the Chelsea academy, endured seven separate loan spells and failed to make a single senior appearance for the Blues before eventually fleeing the nest for pastures new in 2011.
 
As Monk alluded too, it was at Chelsea were he was given his football education. Cork has previously recalled the eye-opening moment when Didier Drogba pulled him to one side during a pre-season training session with Chelsea to teach him how to mark a striker of his ilk; the importance of timing and how forward’s think.
 
Cork may not have ever been able to put those tips into immediate practice at Chelsea, but nevertheless, he now seems to be reaping the rewards at the Liberty Stadium. There are even murmurs of a senior England call up in the offing, as Roy Hodgson seeks alternatives to an injury-prone Jack Wilshere at the base of his midfield diamond with the Euro’s round the corner.
 
In terms of a like-for-like replacement, Hodgson’s decision to turn to Cork would represent nothing of the sort. By all means, Wilshere is not a natural defensive midfielder - an area of the pitch where England are not particularly rich in options - and it is only with England where he is given the task of shielding the back four.
 
However, despite carrying out the role diligently it appears increasingly unlikely Wilshere will even be fit for selection when England make the trip across the Channel for the Euros in nine months time. With only six games remaining Hodgson is wisely looking to give alternatives game time prior to the main event.
 
The logical step would be to turn to the experience of Michael Carrick. However, his own fitness concerns have seen the 34-year-old only manage to start in just over half of Manchester United’s Premier League matches in the last three years (55.5%). There is also the added fact that he is no longer a spring chicken and Hodgson has not been discrete in voicing his ambitions to look to the next generation.

 
Hodgson has reportedly been tracking Cork’s progress for some time and has been impressed with the midfielder’s progress since he joined Swansea. In terms of his start to the season, only Ross Barkley (7.67), Jamie Vardy (7.52) and Chris Smalling have enjoyed finer than Cork (7.40) of the English representation to have made at least three Premier League appearances thus far.
 
Cork’s ability to not only anticipate the danger around him but also pick the right moments to exact his influence on proceedings – perhaps influenced by the likes of Drogba’s early tuition - are arguably his most notable traits. In fact, only Yohan Cabaye (21) has made more interceptions than Cork in the Premier League (19) so far this season in the Premier League, accentuating his statistically calculated strength of ‘concentration’ according to WhoScored.com.
 
Given the manner of his role, it is also notable that Cork has only picked up two bookings in 20 games for Swansea and given away just two fouls so far this season, which would give further evidence to the case that supports Cork’s ability to negate the danger around him efficiently. England are often criticised for being too naïve up against the international elite and Cork’s performances so far this season would suggest a real coming of age period for the midfielder
 
While some quarter of the England faithful may point towards Mark Noble as another candidate worthy of earning a call up to future England squad’s, it’s notable to see that only three players have been dribbled past more times than the newly-appointed West Ham captain in the Premier League thus far, with a total of 9 five more than that of Cork (4).
 
Moreover, Cork’s style of play puts him in the mould that would sit well with the direction England are trying to move in under Hodgson. While Cork has also shown an ability to break down attacks, he possesses a passing game than can compliment the other midfielders in the England squad and it is something that has also helped him make such a seamless transition from Southampton to Swansea.
 
In fact, of players to have made more than 20 league appearances since the start of February Cork ranks inside the top 10 for the most successful English passers (86.2%).
 
Cork’s ambition of playing for England is even something that has been discussed between himself and the Swansea manager at the back end of last season. “We have spoken about it before, it’s up to the England manager who he selects, but all I can say is that Jack has been fantastic for us.”
 
The former Chelsea academy graduate has come a long way since embarking on his first loan spell to Bournemouth in League One less than a decade ago and having turned out at every England age group right up until the seniors, Cork now looks more than ready to make the next step in his career and feature in Hodgon’s plans going forward.

 
Is Roy Hodgson right to consider Jack Cork as a potential replacement for Jack Wilshere in the England squad? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below