Thompson still standing by for England chance

Celtic midfielder Alan Thompson was today set to learn whether he still has any chance of forcing his way into England’s Euro 2004 plans, as Sven-Goran Eriksson considers his options for next week’s friendly in Portugal.

Thompson, as well as team-mate Chris Sutton, has been watched several times already this season by England scouts – including Eriksson’s right-hand man Tord Grip.

At the age of 30 and with pace not his strongest point, Thompson is not the most obvious candidate for a call-up by the England coach.

There are many other midfielders to choose from – with younger candidates such as Joe Cole, Scott Parker, Jermaine Jenas, Owen Hargreaves and Kieron Dyer all pressing their claims strongly.

Then again, there is not exactly an abundance of left-footed players in the squad – and Eriksson has therefore been toying with the idea of calling up Thompson.

Whether that happens in the squad announced tonight for next week’s friendly in Portugal still remains to be seen, although an England scout was again due to watch Celtic in action today.