Luton legend Harford believes Ross Barkley is playing his way into the England squad for upcoming Euros

Town midfielder Ross Barkley is playing his way into contention for the England squad that travels to the Euro Championships in Germany later this year, according to Hatters chief recruitment officer Mick Harford.

The 30-year-old is no stranger to international tournaments, having won 33 caps for his country so far, making three appearances at the 2014 World Cup held in Brazil as Roy Hodgson’s side finished bottom of their group. Barkley was then selected by Hodgson once more for the Euro Championships in 2016, although didn't come off the bench in any of the group stages matches, or the 2-1 last 16 defeat to Iceland.

Although picked 11 times by Gareth Southgate since he was appointed as manager, he hasn’t been back to a major competition, his last cap coming when scoring twice in a 2019 Euro qualifier 6-0 thrashing of Bulgaria. Having started the last 13 Premier League matches for the Hatters though, and producing performances of a level not previously seen since the days of Ricky Hill at Kenilworth Road, then the calls for Barkley to be selected by Southgate are starting to grow.

Harford, who himself was capped twice by England back in 1988, agreed he should be on the plane, with his previous experience of such events a huge factor. Speaking to Sky Sports: “One hundred percent, that’s all the coaches and people talk about, is he tournament ready? Has he played in tournaments? Does he understand what it takes to get through group stages and get through to the knock out places?

"He’s been there, he’s seen it and done it and he’s playing his way into the England squad in my opinion. He’s played in tournaments, he’s played in World Cups, he knows what’s needed in those types of tournaments. Whether he gets chosen we’ll never know, but all he can do along with the rest of our players is perform in the way they are playing and I'm sure people will stand up and look at it.”

Since Barkley arrived at Kenilworth Road after a spell out in France with Ligue 1 side Nice last term, he has occupied a slightly deeper role than for the most of his career, forging a terrific partnership with Sambi Lokonga in recent weeks. It certainly hasn’t taken anything away from his natural attacking qualities though, as shown during the 4-4 draw at Newcastle United on Saturday when getting forward to score his third goal of the season and make it 2-2.

Barkley was then in the perfect position to collect Alfie Doughty’s pass and send Elijah Adebayo away for the Hatters fourth, although none of this was done in the presence of Southgate, who opted to go to the Netherlands and watch Jordan Henderson’s debut for Ajax instead. Harford does believe that despite being up against the former Liverpool midfielder, plus Kalvin Phillips, now at West Ham, he should be considered for that deeper lying role, adding: “Why not because he's performing in that role.

"I have a theory that you pick your best players who are playing, who are performing well when the tournaments come around. Ross has shown he can play that role, he’s diligent, he’s responsible in that role, he tracks his runners, he stays with his men, he gives good information to the players around him. He possesses great qualities, he's got 33 England caps and that takes a lot of doing and at the moment, he's in great form.

"He's playing in a team that’s doing really well. He's playing in a slightly different position from what we all know Ross can do and what he brings to the team, but Ross is absolutely pivotal to what we're trying to do at the moment. He's playing out of his skin, performing at a very, very high level, as a lot of the group are.”

With Luton, unbeaten in the calendar year now, giving themselves a massive chance of Premier League survival, then Harford was also eager to praise the rest of the squad and their manager too, adding: “The group are performing to very good levels and they’re producing results at the moment. We must give Rob Edwards some praise for that because of the style of play that he's brought to this football club. It's paying dividends at the moment and long may it continue.”