If Will Hughes is not in the England squad to face Croatia and Spain next month, Troy Deeney’s theory that players from lesser clubs are being overlooked will be proven.

While the “Deeney for England” bandwagon gains velocity after his comments about Gareth Southgate favouring those from the big sides, Hughes is the Watford player who should feel most aggrieved if not selected because few Englishmen are performing at such a high level consistently this season.

Ben Foster, the Watford goalkeeper, believes that Deeney could be like Peter Crouch by offering England a rather different outlet up front compared with the first-choice options. Yet Hughes would offer so much more because he is a potential solution to Southgate’s biggest problem: a midfielder who can pass