England manager Fabio Capello admits he is a big fan of Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere, and that he has been watching him a lot this season.
The Italian coach recently compared the 19-year-old midfielder with former Chelsea and Real Madrid man Claude Makelele.
The comparison surprised Wilshere, who likes to play further forward than the former France star, but Capello has hinted that he has plans for the Arsenal man in a variety of midfield roles for the England national side.
Capello said: “Wilshere is better. Makelele was faster and could play with both feet.
“But Wilshere is really intelligent on the pitch. His movement, with the ball, without the ball has improved a lot. In some games he has played forward, in other games he played in front of the back four. He will be really important for me.
“I monitored him from the start of the season and he has improved a lot. He is a good player at short passes and winning back the ball. He is playing with confidence.”
Meanwhile, Wilshere could find himself in hot water over some comments on his Twitter account following Arsenal’s disappointing 4-4 draw with Newcastle yesterday.
Former Liverpool winger Ryan Babel was recently fined by the FA for criticising referee Howard Webb, and Wilshere is the latest Premier League star to hit out at match officials via the popular social networking site.
He tweeted: “Inconsistent refereeing needs to stop. It’s killing the game. If Diaby is sent off, what’s the difference between that and Kevin Nolan’s challenge on our keeper!??”
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