Morgan Gibbs-White has one month to persuade England manager Thomas Tuchel he deserves a place in the World Cup squad.
The Nottingham Forest playmaker scored a hat-trick against Burnley on Sunday, taking his goal tally to eight in his last 13 games. Since March, no Premier League player has scored more than his six goals.
Despite his form, Gibbs-White was omitted from Tuchel's 35-man squad for last month's friendlies against Japan and Uruguay. However, England's final World Cup squad must be submitted by 30 May, leaving a narrow window for the 26-year-old to force his way in.
Gibbs-White is well regarded within the England setup, having won the Under-17 World Cup in 2017 and the European Under-21 Championship in 2021. Yet he has only six senior caps and 89 minutes of playing time for the Three Lions, with his last appearance coming in October's 3-0 win over Wales.
He faces stiff competition from Cole Palmer, Eberechi Eze, Morgan Rogers, Phil Foden, and Jude Bellingham for the number 10 role. But Gibbs-White has played more minutes this season (2,819) than any of those contenders except Rogers (2,925), and his 12 Premier League goals make him the second-highest English scorer behind Brighton's Danny Welbeck (13).
Gibbs-White's creativity is also evident: only Foden and Bellingham create more chances per 90 minutes. However, his expected assist figures are low, and he has fewer touches in the box (3.5 per 90) than most rivals, partly due to Forest's struggles and tactical changes under four managers this season.
With time running out, Gibbs-White must produce a memorable final month to book his ticket to the World Cup.