For the first time in a while, the England squad doesn't seem so impenetrable. It might not be bursting with quality or be the envy of the other nations, but it no longer exists independently of domestic form. At least, not nearly as much as it once did.
That means that between now and the World Cup, there's still an opportunity for uncapped players to have their passports stamped for Russia. Gareth Southgate will likely remain largely loyal to those who played a part in qualification, but here are four who might sneak in from the outside.
Alfie Mawson
Mawson has some limitations, let's not pretend otherwise. He's not the quickest and he's never likely to stride around the backline like Franz Beckenbauer. Currently, Swansea are struggling and the errors have been leaking from Paul Clement's side all season, including a couple of nasty ones from Mawson himself. But don't let that distract from what a tough, physically reliable centre-half he can be. He’s a good player in a currently poor side.
By all accounts, Swansea never had to actually fend off a solid bid over the summer, but there's a reason why interest was reported from Liverpool and Tottenham. In an era in which the game is generally played on the floor, the art of defending crosses has perhaps been slightly lost, but in that regard Mawson is a throwback. He's commanding in the air, juddering in the tackle, and a threat from attacking set-pieces.
Had he played during England's golden generation of centre-backs, when Sven-Goran Eriksson could pick from Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Sol Campbell, and Ledley King, he would have had no chance of a senior international future. Times have changed, though, and England's cupboard isn't anything like as well stocked. When it happens, he will certainly need the right partner alongside him - someone with pace, someone who can compensate for his relative lack of mobility - but expect Gareth Southgate to at least give him a look before the World Cup.
Demarai Gray
Obviously it depends on his club. At the time of writing, Gray has made just one Premier League start this season and substitute appearances alone will not make a sufficiently strong case for a call-up.
Gray isn't fully formed yet, meaning he could theoretically evolve into almost any sort of attacking player. He looks most comfortable operating from the left side of the pitch, but his tendency to drive infield and towards the box makes him highly modern.
It's a competitive spot and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling, Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott stand in Gray's way, but Southgate evidently retains a certain loyalty to players who have grown up in the FA's youth team and will have certainly have been impressed by Gray's performance at last summer's European U21 Championship. He promises end product, moving well inside and outside the box and striking the ball purely, and that’s a quality which England can ill afford to overlook.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
In hindsight, Loftus-Cheek couldn't possibly have chosen a worse loan destination than Crystal Palace. He signed up for first-team football under Frank de Boer at a club who were looking to progress away from their embedded counter-attacking style. Alas, it's not even November and he finds himself as the only true attacking midfielder in a squad bereft of confidence and now working under the pragmatic Roy Hodgson.
He has talent, that's plainly obvious, but his appeal to the senior squad may lie as much in their deficiencies as it does anything else. England lack creativity. They have midfield resilience, wingers who flash their feet, and a couple of very dynamic full-backs, but - other than Dele Alli - nobody who is naturally equipped to scheme in advanced positions.
Realistically, even Alli doesn't fit that role, being more of a second forward than an outright No.10. Does Loftus-Cheek? Again, not being a fully developed player, it's hard to say. He does possess the attributes, though, and artisan ball-players who process the game quickly have never been more necessary than they are right now.
Tom Davies
Everton are in a strange place - and they're also being managed in an odd way. They're lacking a proper focal point, even if Oumar Niasse is currently auditioning for the role, and their midfield looks terribly imbalanced.
One of the bigger mysteries continues to be why Davies, probably the only (available) midfield Ronald Koeman has who's comfortable carrying the ball forward, remains a peripheral figure. Everton desperately need to become more lively and penetrative in possession and Davies, although still young and still learning, could absolutely provide some of that fizz.
So could England. One of the reasons why Jack Wilshere's name has started being mentioned again at England press conferences is because Southgate's midfield looks worryingly docile. Harry Winks was recently called up to add some much-needed urgency to the side's distribution and Davies' own verticality, should it find its way off Koeman's substitutes' bench, would also be a welcome addition.
He’s a long shot to break through this season, particularly if Wilshere actually recovers his fitness and proves his durability, and England have traditionally steered well clear of scruffy mavericks who make the game up as they go along. Given recent performances, though, that raffish, scruff quality he possesses might actually work in his favour.
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