England Watch - Justin Hoyte
Hoyte has seen a good deal of first-team action this season
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Wednesday, 03, Jan 2007 05:40
Scoring his first senior goal during Arsenal's 4-0 win over Charlton Athletic at the turn of the year marked something of a coming of age for Gunners youth team graduate Justin Hoyte.
The 22-year-old from Leytonstone has been on the books at the north London club since the beginning of his football career - the only interruption being a loan spell at Sunderland last season.
An England under-21 international, Hoyte is a rare talent with pace to burn and has proven himself capable of coping with life as a Premiership full-back. But does he have international star quality? asks Alistair Potter.
Name: Justin Raymond Hoyte
Position: Right-back
Club: Arsenal
Age by South Africa 2010: 25
Justin Hoyte has taken full advantage of the dearth of cover and various injury crises in defence at the Emirates Stadium this season, following the acrimonious departure of England stalwart Ashley Cole to Chelsea and various problems encountered by new signing William Gallas, as well as Emmanuel Eboue, Lauren and Gael Clichy.
Hoyte is an inexperienced senior player who only signed full professional terms in the summer of 2003, yet he has already made the step up to a starting berth in the Arsenal side. So far this season he has made 19 appearances in all competitions, including starts in the Champions League, the League Cup and the Premiership.
He is also a member of the England under-21 side that has successfully qualified for the 2007 European Championships in the Netherlands and will be eligible to play at the summer tournament, if selected. He has 11 caps and has scored one goal to date.
There is little doubt that what Hoyte lacks in ability at present, he more than makes up for with his pace. Widely regarded as the fastest player in the Arsenal ranks, until the arrival of a certain Theo Walcott, Hoyte can be compared to a purebred racehorse in that both his mother, Wendy, and father, Les, are former sprinters, as is his uncle, Trevor Hoyte.
The 22-year-old faces stiff competition at left full-back from former team-mate Cole in the England set-up, but right-back could provide a promising avenue into the full squad. Incumbent Gary Neville is now well into his 30s and although Manchester City's Micah Richards has already made inroads into Steve McClaren's squad selection, and even gained a start in the friendly against the Netherlands, Hoyte cannot be too far behind.
Many Emirates regulars will tell you how much he has improved since being given an opportunity in the starting line-up this season and so he could be pushing Richards to take over from the elder of the two Nevilles when he finally hangs up his boots.
England's 2010 World Cup squad
*Players in bold - tickets to South Africa booked already
Goalkeepers
Paul Robinson
Possibles: Chris Kirkland, Ben Foster, Rob Green, Scott Carson
Defenders
John Terry, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Jamie Carragher
Possibles: Glen Johnson, Joleon Lescott, Micah Richards, Ledley King, Michael Dawson, Anton Ferdinand, Leighton Baines, Justin Hoyte, Curtis Davies, Wes Brown, Phil Bardsley, Michael Mancienne
Midfielders
Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Owen Hargreaves, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick
Possibles: Aaron Lennon, Tom Huddlestone, Nigel Reo-Coker, Lee Cattermole, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Stewart Downing, Giles Barnes, James Morrison, Kieran Richardson
Forwards
Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen
Possibles: David Nugent, Theo Walcott, James Vaughan, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch, Darren Bent, Dean Ashton, Cameron Jerome