Micah Richards believes Jarrell Quansah would already be in the England squad had he not been playing alongside Virgil van Dijk.
The 21-year-old has enjoyed a brilliant breakout campaign for Liverpool this season
He has made 26 appearances for the Reds this term - that coming after a campaign he spent on-loan with League One side Bristol Rovers.
Richards was asked if his displays are good enough to earn a spot in the England squad.
Richards
"He’s not played every single game and he probably wouldn’t be playing if other players were fit."
“I think the factor of playing alongside [Virgil] Van Dijk has obviously helped him.
"If it were say Quansah and Gomez, and he was playing at the same level, I’d probably agree that [he should be in England contention].
“He has been outstanding for a young player, especially in the Man City game where they had [Conor] Bradley at right-back, and he was playing at centre-back.
"He really showed his maturity in that game. But in terms of England, I think it’s a little bit early for him.”
Alan Shearer was also full of praise for the Liverpool defender.
Shearer added:
“I like him and I think he’s done really well. He struggled a bit in the first half [last weekend] when Brighton let him have a lot of the ball.
“But in the second-half, he more than grew into the game and was brilliant. He read it really, really well. Without a doubt, he’s got huge potential.
“To be thrown into the pressure cooker at Liverpool and the way it’s going at the minute, he’s obviously got a lot about him and he’s only going to get better.”
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