Tottenham’s Ryan Mason has earned his first call-up to the England squad, replacing the injured Adam Lallana, for the games against Lithuania and Italy.
Here are seven things you might not know about the Spurs midfielder…
1. Fast learner
Ryan Mason only made his Barclays Premier League debut for Tottenham in September – starting the 1-1 draw at Arsenal – having scored his first goal for the club three days earlier in a 3-1 League Cup win over Nottingham Forest. Since then he has made 29 appearances for Spurs this season and grabbed his first top-flight goal in their 3-2 win over Swansea this month.
2. The waiting game
The midfielder had to wait almost four years for a second appearance for Tottenham after his debut in November 2008. Mason made his bow, under Harry Redknapp, in a 1-0 UEFA Cup win at NEC Nijmegen when he was an injury-time substitute for David Bentley. But, after being sent out on loan several times, he did not play for Spurs again until another stoppage-time appearance in a 0-0 Europa League draw with Lazio in September 2012.
3. Loan ranger
The main reason for Mason’s wait at Spurs was that he was sent out on loan five times after his debut. He spent the 2009-10 season at Yeovil, scoring six goals in 29 games including his first professional strike in a 2-1 defeat at Colchester. Three separate spells at Doncaster followed before he joined Millwall in 2012 – along with Harry Kane – and moved to Lorient in January 2013 but did not feature in Ligue 1. Mason spent the first half of last season at Swindon, netting five goals in 22 games.
4. England duty
Ryan Mason's last appearance for #Eng came in an Under-20s game v France in 2011. Also has four U19 caps
— Paul Hirst (@hirstclass) March 23, 2015
Mason has represented England for the under-16s, under-19s and under-20s but, now 23, never made an appearance for Gareth Southgate’s under-21 side. His last appearance for his country came for the under-20s in 2011 when he was a second-half substitute in their 2-1 defeat to France at Shrewsbury.
5. Friends in high places
Tim Sherwood is a big fan even though Mason never played under him at White Hart Lane. The Aston Villa boss took over at Spurs in January last year and believed, before his call up, Mason was being overlooked. He said: “There’s top talent there and we’ve not even mentioned players like Ryan Mason. Now’s the time to start bedding them in. Get them playing together and a bit of luck with injuries and I think we’ve got a really good chance.”
6. Tied down
Mason was given a new five-and-a-half year contract by Tottenham in January this year after just 15 Barclays Premier League appearances. He impressed boss Mauricio Pochettino during their pre-season tour to America and his early form convinced the club to hand him a fresh deal. Mason told Spurs TV at the time: “I’ve worked hard, a lot of work over the years has gone into what has happened this season and this time I’ve a manager who has faith in me and stuck me in.”
7. The stats don’t lie
Ryan Mason has made the most passes into the final third of any Tottenham players since September 2014. #THFC #ENG pic.twitter.com/8CV4qwTZtK
— Talking THFC (@TalkingTHFC) March 24, 2015
He has scored twice and set up three goals this season. Mason has made 1,403 passes, with an overall accuracy of 83%, has had 43 shots with a shooting accuracy of 66% and made 81 tackles. But, in his 29 games, he has been substituted 15 times – most recently coming off in the 88th minute during Saturday’s 4-3 win over Leicester.
Source: SNAPPA
