Huddlestone merits England call-up, says midfield partner Livermore

HULL City’s Jake Livermore is tipping central midfield partner Tom Huddlestone for an England recall tomorrow – but is not expecting one for himself.
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The Tigers pair have dovetailed impressively since arriving from Tottenham Hotspur prior to the Premier League kick-off on August 17, playing their part in a fine start to the campaign for Hull, who sit in seventh spot.

The majority of the bouquets have been reserved for Huddlestone, who has already claimed several awards as man of the match.

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Tigers manager Steve Bruce sees no reason why the £5.25m club record signing should not be handed a return to the England fold when Roy Hodgson tomorrow afternoon announces his squad for the vital forthcoming World Cup qualifiers with Montenegro and Poland.

Huddlestone’s last cap arrived last November with the Nottingham-born player coming on for his fourth senior international appearance as a late substitute in the 4-2 friendly defeat to Sweden.

Livermore’s sole senior appearance came as a substitute in the 2-1 defeat to Italy in a friendly in Berne in August, 2012 and he feels Huddlestone is in pole position to become the first Hull player to be capped by England.

Livermore, 23, on a season-long loan at Hull, said: “I don’t think there’s been too many English midfielders in better form than Tom so far this season, so if it was up to me I’d be pushing for Tom to be involved.

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“Tom’s been fantastic. Saturday’s performance was one of the best I’ve seen in the Premier League, to be honest.

“It was great to play alongside him, as it is every week. Especially against West Ham, his calmness on the ball, his range of passing and his work-rate were just fantastic.

“People see it as me doing his work for him, but he works just as hard. He’s got fantastic quality on the ball and that decision-making in possession makes him the player he is.”

Questioned on his own recall hopes with the Three Lions, Livermore added: “I wouldn’t have thought so.

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“I’m just enjoying my football here at the minute. This is my bread and butter, so I’m just looking forward to the next game.

“If I get a call-up then great, but if not I’ll keeping working hard for this team and see where it takes me.

“I’m loving my football here. I would have loved to have topped off Saturday with a goal for myself, but I’m really enjoying getting a run of games here.

“It seems like a long time since I last enjoyed this amount of football, but hopefully I can take the opportunity with both hands. Hopefully, it can continue.”

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Hull winger Robbie Brady will be out of action for around four weeks after opting to have surgery to correct a long-standing hernia problem.

Brady will miss the Tigers’ Premier League game against Aston Villa on Saturday as well as the Republic of Ireland’s World Cup qualifiers against Germany and Kazakhstan.