Is this West Ham man the most under-rated English defender in the Premier League?

James Tomkins – To most West Ham fans who have been frequenting Upton Park regularly in the past few seasons, the 26-year-old defender has simply been a rock at the back for his respective managers in the claret & blue.

Alongside the likes of Winston Reid and James Collins in West Ham’s current defensive set-up, Sam Allardyce has been able to rely upon Tomkins for his characteristic reliability at the back, as well as his impressive consistency on a week-to-week basis.

Away from the comfort of his own fans in the east end however, the Hammers academy graduate more often than not goes down as a somewhat indifferent prospect, and a player that has hardly managed to capture the widespread attention of the English footballing community so far in his career.

So then, whilst Roy Hodgson’s England squad currently plays host to perhaps the weakest set of centre-backs the country has ever paid witness to, does the West Ham no. 5 deserve to be included within the national team sooner rather than later, or is James Tomkins simply no more than an average English defender who will never likely offer his nation a great deal going into Euro 2016?

The answer seemingly arrives as a slightly complicated one…

When it comes to quality defending in the Premier League, the Basildon born centre-back has certainly staked a worthy claim for himself whilst representing the Hammers in recent years. The beginning of his West Ham career may have included an untimely relegation under the ill-fated reign of Avram Grant at Upton Park – but as a year away from the attention and pressure of top-flight football often does the world of good for young, up and coming players in the modern game – Tomkins has largely emerged from his team’s past struggles as a much better player.

In traditionally British style, the 26-year-old initially arrives as a no nonsense type defender. He is more than capable of bossing most aerial battles the Premier League has to offer, can pull out the odd match saving tackle in an exciting against all odds fashion – and whilst his concentration levels have somewhat let the West Ham man down on occasion this season – overall James Tomkins proves a more than worthy first team starter for Sam Allardyce.

The former England U21 international is also pretty handy with his feet when the time comes – as unlike most of the other centre-backs Allardyce has had the pleasure of working with throughout his long-term managerial career – Tomkins can actually operate as a well-rounded ‘footballer’ rather than just a brave, but technically limited ‘defender’.

Whilst James Tomkins has currently been side-lined with a recent shoulder injury in the past few weeks, it certainly remains curious as to why the English national team have never seen fit to at least try out his services before.

2013/14 saw the Hammers record one of the most impressive defensive records across the entire league campaign after-all, and although this season Tomkins and co. haven’t been quite as efficient at recording those all-important clean sheets for their manager, West Ham have still operated successfully with their overall defensive game.

Perhaps this is just another case of Roy Hodgson failing to pick players based on recent form, instead opting to fall-back on those who ultimately play for a more high profile outfit than the Hammers. Fair enough, Gary Cahill just about deserves a call-up to the national squad after his recent endeavours with Chelsea, but the prospect of facing the likes of Phil Jagielka, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling for other international teams must come as somewhat of a joke to certain strikers out there.

Their recent performances this season simply don’t warrant an almost guaranteed place in the England squad – yet as Hodgson has so far kept in line with the trend of prioritising players from big teams before the less commercially viable options lower down the table – perhaps nothing is likely to change for the likes of James Tomkins anytime soon.

As the loyal Hammers centre-back has recently signed a new deal with his boyhood club however, England’s loss has seemingly become West Ham’s gain in all of this, as the east end club look to push onto to life at the Olympic Stadium in the not too distant future.