Leicester duo Harvey Barnes and James Maddison were both left out of Gareth Southgate's England squad on Thursday; Brendan Rodgers believes Barnes would provide something different to the international set-up; Leicester host Wolves on Sunday, live on Sky Sports
Friday 6 November 2020 17:04, UK
Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers believes Harvey Barnes will earn an England recall after being left out of the latest squad.
Barnes was omitted from Gareth Southgate's squad to face the Republic of Ireland in a friendly and UEFA Nations League matches against Belgium and Iceland this month.
The 22-year-old winger made his debut in October's win against Wales last month but was overlooked this time after the return of Raheem Sterling pushed him down a pecking order, which already includes Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish.
Barnes scored his second Premier League goal of the campaign in the 4-1 win at Leeds on Monday to propel the Foxes to second in the table and Rodgers is adamant he can bring something different to England.
"Harvey is getting better and I'm sure there will be other squads for him to be involved in," Rodgers said.
"He is a player the national team don't have, in that he is so direct with his running.
"He started the season very well and earned the opportunity. Having met with the group last time it'll prove a great motivation for him.
"He was very grateful for the opportunity, he deserved it and has continued to play well.
"All he can do is his job which is perform well for Leicester, he will continue to develop and improve."
James Maddison also missed out on the England squad despite his recovery from the hip surgery which forced him to miss the end of last season.
The midfielder, who has one cap, has started four of the Foxes' last five games and scored three goals this season during the club's impressive start to the season both domestically and in the Europa League.
Jonny Evans is expected to return for Leicester after recovering from a back problem.
The defender has missed the last three games but is in full training ahead of Sunday's visit of Wolves, live on Sky Sports.
Jamie Vardy will return after being rested for the 4-0 Europa League win over Braga but Ricardo Pereira (knee), Caglar Soyuncu (groin), Wilfred Ndidi (groin), Timothy Castagne (hamstring) and Daniel Amartey (hamstring) remain out.
