SM
Man City vs. Feyenoord: 19 hrs 34 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews

Ledley King excited by young crop of England defenders

:Headline: Ledley King excited by young crop of England defenders: ID:175249: from db_amp
Former Spurs and Three Lions centre-back Ledley King is excited about the "top-class" potential of England's next generation of defenders.

Former Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Ledley King expects the country's crop of young defenders to become as good as England's golden generation.

Injuries and competition for places with the likes of John Terry, Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand and Jamie Carragher limited the Spurs legend to 21 appearances in a once-fledgling international career.

There has been much talk of the Three Lions entering a new era following the retirements of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, but King has no fears about the future of England's defensive ranks.

He is excited about the "top-class" potential of players such as Calum Chambers, John Stones, Steven Caulker and Eric Dier, and is also tipping current regulars Chris Smalling and Phil Jones to blossom in time.

"There's no reason why in two or three years' time we couldn't see a generation of defenders every bit as good as mine," he told the Daily Star. "I think in my time we were fortunate to have some top class defenders. It was probably one of England's strongest positions. We had a number of good players there.

"But things change. At the moment we are an exciting team going forward. We have good young players in forward positions. "But there are good young players that can in the future hopefully be top players. Players like Chris Smalling and Phil Jones at Manchester United. I expect them to improve under Louis Van Gaal.

"Stones at Everton, Calum Chambers, Steven Caulker. I'm going to keep an eye out for Eric Dier as well.These are players who've got big futures and hopefully can be the commanding centre backs that you need in a national team. It's up to the rest of the players to push for spots in the team as well. Young players need time and the experience of playing in the team."

King retired from playing in 2012 due to persistent knee problems, and is now an ambassador at Tottenham.

amp_article__175249 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2014-09-06 20:23:17:
html db last update - 2014-09-06 20:23:17 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Ledley King

Click here for more stories about Tottenham Hotspur

Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Fulham125341717018
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle125341313018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham124351519-415
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .