By STEVEN HOWARD
SO who “gets” Tom Cleverley?
Certainly England boss Roy Hodgson, who has started the Manchester United midfield man in all seven internationals since Euro 2012.
He’s the only England player who has.
After England launched their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 5-0 victory in Moldova, Hodgson went as far as to make comparisons between Cleverley and Cesc Fabregas.
Which produced a few dropped jaws among the assembled hacks.
And while all the talk was about Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere in the build-up to the 2-1 defeat of Brazil at Wembley on Wednesday night, Hodgson kept chipping away about Cleverley’s potential.
So he obviously stokes his manager’s fire.
And he’s increasingly becoming a United fixture after starting 10 of the last 13 games.
But many England fans are scratching their heads.
What does he actually do? How good is he?
To many, he remains an enigmatic figure.
He’s sort of six out of 10, vin ordinaire, very busy, OK-ish but nothing really special.
And when he’s poor — as he was in Poland, though, admittedly, played out of position on the left — he’s poor.
Yet based on the success of the 45 minutes he was given alongside Wilshere against Brazil — and with Steven Gerrard behind in support — he seems very much a man with an important England future.
And he would surely have played more games for United had he not been injured early last season.
United-watchers say the team lose something without him because he puts pace in the side.
He keeps it moving and has a sixth sense of where his team-mates are.
Yes, he beats himself up when he plays loose balls but then, at 23, he’s not yet the refined article.
Of course, he is overshadowed at United by Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Michael Carrick.
And it’s the same with England.
But such appears to be Hodgson’s faith in him that the doubters among us may have to take stock and reconsider.
With Wilshere also providing real pace in midfield, England played a very high-tempo game against Brazil — even more so when Theo Walcott was released.
Frank Lampard and Carrick are more leisurely players so it will be interesting to see how it all pans out in the build-up to March’s vital World Cup qualifier in Montenegro.
But Cleverley isn’t the only United player under the England magnifying-glass.
If there was one disappointment about the Brazil game it was Danny Welbeck.
And we’re not talking just about the chance he had in the first half when he chose not to shoot with his left foot but hit it wide with the outside of his right.
He just seemed out of place on the left.
Yes, he’s scored five in 14 for England and yet for United it’s only one in 27 this season.
When Alex Ferguson was questioned about this the other day, he was non-plussed and talked of Welbeck’s work-rate, how he held the ball up, ran with pace and made space for Rooney and RVP.
Like Cleverley, though, he has time on his side.
