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Morgan ‘I was lucky to play with Jagielka’

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Image for Morgan ‘I was lucky to play with Jagielka’

Blades skipper Morgan speaks of his former partner..

Chris Morgan has spoken of his pleasure at playing alongside Phil Jagielka, and believes he will be an England International for years to come.

Jagielka, who spent eight years at Bramall Lane, after signing his first professional deal started England’s first two qualifiers for the European Championship in 2012, firmly asserting himself in Fabio Capello’s plans.

Whilst it’s likely he will face a tougher task with a return to full fitness, his performances so far have done nothing to harm his chances of being a fully fledged member of the Three Lions.

Blades captain, Morgan, who partnered the Everton man, spoke to ‘sport.co.uk’ of how his rise to prominence almost never happened.

“You could see from an early age, even before I arrived here, when he was chucked into the first team early doors and played central midfield as well as right back that he was quality. He laughed at me when I thought his best position was centre half, especially stepping up into the Premier League. I thought everything he had made him the perfect centre half.”

It was clear for most Blades to see Jagielka’s best position, although he played at right-back for the majority of the successful 2002/03 season, and early claims that he could replace Gary Neville in the England team were brandished around by the fans.

However, the young Jagielka reverted to the centre of the field, where he swapped between midfield and defence under Neil Warnock, and even played in midfield for much of the promotion season (where he won the FourFourTwo Championship player of the year) and also finished amongst the clubs top scorers in the Premier League.

When he left the club in 2007, he had a steady start at Everton with many wondering why such a fee had been paid, but it wasn’t until he moved back into defence that he began justifying the move, and proving his ability.

Once again it was in defence where Jags shone, and MOrgan believes if he remains in this position, he can move onto even bigger things.

“He`s always been a good reader of the game, has a good physique and he`s very strong. He`s comfortable on the ball and he has all the attributes to make a good all round defender. I can see him becoming an England international for years to come.”

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