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Addicks duo get England boost

27/09/2005

England number two Tord Grip has revealed that Charlton duo Jerome Thomas and Danny Murphy are in line for an international call-up.

Speaking in the wake of England's disastrous 1-0 defeat by Northern Ireland earlier this month, Sven-Goran Eriksson's assistant dropped a major hint that new faces may be added to the England camp in the next few weeks.

And with England boss Eriksson set to announce his squad for the final two World Cup qualifiers on Sunday, Murphy in particular has a good chance of making a return to the England fold.

The former Liverpool midfielder has not featured for his country since 2003, having earned nine caps, but his performances for the Addicks have seen him force himself back into the reckoning.

"He's been terrific," Grip told the FA's official website after seeing the 28-year-old score twice in Charlton's 2-1 win over West Brom at the weekend.

"He did well even last season but this season of course they're playing him alongside [Alexei] Smertin and one holding midfield player so he can go forward a little bit more and Murphy is very good."

Eriksson may look to shuffle his squad for the crucial home clashes with Austria and Poland – on October 8th and 12th respectively – after his first-choice midfielders failed to shine against the Irish and Grip admits that Murphy is in contention.

"If Murphy goes on playing like he has done so far we will watch him - and Sven is going to see his game on Saturday - we will see," he added.

"He is doing so well for Charlton and of course if you pick a player from a team doing well then you know that you will have a confident player, that's for sure."

And Murphy may not be the only player leaving the Valley to link up with England as former Arsenal winger Thomas has also been attracting interest after his impressive start to the season helped Charlton move to second in the Premiership.

"Jerome Thomas on the left is an interesting player because he’s also a very tricky player - he’s quick and has good technique and likes to beat people," Grip said of the 22-year-old north Londoner. "He’s doing very well too."

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