Usually, Premier League managers are coy when asked whether one of their players should be in the England squad, trotting out the old ‘I can’t pick Gareth Southgate’s team for him’ line.
Not Thomas Frank. Brentford’s boss is different and, after Ivan Toney’s hat-trick on Saturday, he did not hide behind any cliched answer. ‘I have said many times he is the best penalty taker in the world and hopefully I won’t get bored (of) saying it,’ Frank said of his 26-year-old striker.
‘England have been in a few penalty shootouts and if they want to win one, they need to pick Ivan.