It is only a matter of time before Crystal Palace supply their next England recruit — expect Eberechi Eze to be next off the Selhurst Park conveyor belt to enrich Gareth Southgate’s squad.
The England boss will be accused of bias towards his former club if he is not careful. But make no mistake, there is no favouritism at play.
When Conor Gallagher, Marc Guehi and Tyrick Mitchell reported for international duty at St George’s Park yesterday they did so knowing they belong.
The first enquires into Palace from Southgate about the trio arrived just five games into the season.
Guehi and Gallagher were relatively familiar to the England boss — both played extensively at international junior level and are highly regarded at the national football centre in Burton.
Mitchell, however, was an unknown quantity but the national team boss liked what he saw.
He liked how quickly he got into his opponent’s face, suffocating them. Southgate also loved his tenacity in one-on-one situations, blocking crosses and taking it as an insult if a forward got past him.
Many at Palace believed Aaron Wan-Bissaka was the best out-and-out defender the club has produced in recent years. That was until Mitchell’s emergence.
He is not the finished article. Ask those at Palace and they will tell you his end product in the final third needs improving but there is belief, more than hope, that will come under the guidance of manager Patrick Vieira.
Under previous boss Roy Hodgson, Mitchell’s job was simple — defend and back up Wilfried Zaha. But Vieira has let Mitchell off the leash. The defender is now instructed to bypass Zaha, or whoever else he may be partnered with down the left flank, at every opportunity.
As a result, Mitchell is running 2km more in every game under Vieira than he was under Hodgson. He has run himself into World Cup contention.
Released by Brentford in 2016 after the club shut down its academy, Mitchell was quickly snapped up by Palace. They uprooted him from his north London home closer to the club’s training HQ in Beckenham, south London. It was not an easy move. The defender endured a troubled upbringing and his father spent time in prison, leaving his mother to raise him.
Moving away from home, his mum and friends was the toughest of calls — but it has been worth it.
He still speaks to his mother after every match and takes pride in ensuring she is financially secure. He is said to be very humble and amiable but when he crosses the white line, a switch is flicked. He changes.
Guehi, by contrast, is calmer and more mature. ‘A 30-year-old in a 21-year-old’s body,’ explained one source.
That is exactly what Southgate loves about the central defender, his professionalism and focus. He is unfazed by anything and is always in control.
Palace tracked Guehi for 18 months before signing him last summer for around £18million from Chelsea. Scouts had watched him 19 times during his loan spell at Swansea. Scouting reports pinpoint decision-making as his best attribute. ‘He never takes the wrong option,’ explained an insider.
The fact Guehi has been taken from England Under 21s, who have two important European Championship qualifiers, speaks volumes. Expect Guehi to be in the World Cup party this year.
Whether Gallagher makes it to Qatar depends on if he gets into Chelsea’s team next season.
Sportsmail understands the 22-year-old wants to return and try to establish himself at the club he joined aged eight. Palace would sign him in a heartbeat but have accepted that is a no-go.
Not playing regularly at Chelsea, however, will have serious ramifications for the midfielder’s hopes of the World Cup.
Is he talented enough? Without doubt. Is he as talented or more so than what Chelsea already have? We are about to find out.
Who knows, maybe it will be Eze who overtakes him? He was due to be in Southgate’s squad for last summer’s internationals before an achilles injury.
But the attacker has regained his fitness and is back on England’s radar. Maybe Southgate really is biased.