Leeds United and Sheffield United players get extra time to impress

In 2015, the BBC tried to select a side for what was supposed to be this summer’s European Championships and although it is actually pretty good, it featured the likes of Burnley’s reserve goalkeeper Joe Hart, Liverpool’s forgotten right-back Nathaniel Clyne, and Jack Wilshere.

In 2014, they pulled together five renowned British journalists who between them picked Karl Darlow, Jon Flanagan, Calum Chambers, Jack Rodwell, Josh Onomah and Patrick Roberts for the 2018 World Cup. Wilshere and Daniel Sturridge were in all five XIs.

This is not to denigrate my fellow football writers, but to demonstrate how difficult such predictions can be.

Some very good players never get the chance to play in a major tournament – either because their countries do not qualify during their careers, or because they just got their timing wrong.

Now, as far as we can tell, the next European Championships are 15 months away after coronavirus forced a postponement.

For some, Euro 2020 might have looked a perfect time to bow out, but Euro 2021 might a step too far. For those at the other end of the scale, the extra time could help.

The Leeds United pair of Ben White and Kalvin Phillips could be two such players. That Gareth Southgate was at Elland Road to check on them in January speaks volumes for how the young Englishmen are performing.

Had the Three Lions had played Italy as planned tonight and Denmark next week, holding midfielder Phillips might have been handed his international debut. Making the cut for the 23-man summer squad may have been a tough task for a player only able to show his worth in the Championship, though.

If Leeds win promotion whenever this season ends, Phillips could get a full campaign to test and prove himself against the Premier League’s best. Centre-back White should get the same opportunity, whether in a second season-long loan or back at parent club Brighton.

Southgate is not overblessed with options in either position.

Dean Henderson does not have a cap either, but it felt like he might be making a late charge not just for the squad, but even the XI. Sheffield United’s goalkeeper was on top of his game – as evidenced by astonishing saves in his final pre-Covid-19 outing, against Norwich City.

Current incumbent Jordan Pickford was uncapped at the start of 2017-18, yet ended it one of the stars of the World Cup. Now he has time to try to rediscover that form and confidence.

What the next 12 months hold for Henderson is anyone’s guess. He is on loan from Manchester United and has made it known he wants to be their No 1. Red Devils manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has already said he wants the Cumbrian back at Old Trafford next season, but Henderson has no plans to sit on the bench for anyone, not after two brilliant seasons of regular football at Bramall Lane. If he needs an escape route, Sheffield United will only be too willing to oblige.

Will Henderson get much chance to show what he can do next season, particularly if the cup competitions are curtailed or cancelled? It is not beyond the realms of possibility Solskjaer could sell David De Gea to make space but given how clubs could be hit economically by the pandemic, what will the market be like? It would be a big surprise and a big disappointment were Henderson’s time not to come at international level, but whether it will be 2021 is anyone’s guess.

John Fleck is another Blade in the form of his life. If – and bearing in mind who we are talking about, it is a big if – Scotland had successfully negotiated the play-offs initially planned for this month and made it to Euro 2020, he could scarcely have gone into it in better shape. Now he must hope the extra 12 months do not allow Scott McTominay and particularly Chelsea’s Billy Gilmour, who only made his full Premier League debut this month, to push him back in Steve Clarke’s mind.

The Republic of Ireland’s David McGoldrick has the same double concern of hoping his country qualify and seeing off a young buck. Jose Mourinho seems loathe to give Tottenham’s highly-rated Troy Parrott his chance, but who will be the 18-year-old’s club manager next season?

Sheffield Wednesday’s Atdhe Nuhiu is out of contract in the summer. At what level will he be playing if Kosovo make it through the play-offs, now pencilled in for June?

If Leeds’s Welsh international Tyler Roberts can get a regular run of games, he could be an option, too. Bosnian midfielder Mo Besic has struggled for minutes at Sheffield United this season, but is only on loan. Wales and Bosnia Herzegovina have play-offs to negotiate, too.

It may only be 12 months away, but predicting who will star at the next Euros is even harder than ever. There will be much to play for when football gets going again.