LEIGHTON Baines has the brains and brawn to muscle his way into the player of the year shortlist, says David Moyes.
The Everton boss believes the 26-year-old has been a success for club and country and deserves to be in the reckoning when gongs are handed out.
From left-back, Baines has registered 11 assists – the same as Wayne Rooney and Cesc Fabregas – and top form has helped cement his place in the England set-up.
Moyes insists the Kirkby-born defender has also developed a tougher approach to match his footballing intelligence.
He said: “Being a left-back, it’s probably not the most fashionable of positions but if you look at his level, he has been one of the players that has really stepped up.
“He has been consistent, reliable and has had a really good season. Mentally he has become stronger. He takes more responsibility for the team here now as well.
“Maybe when he first came here he was still understanding on getting into the team, but he is one of the key players now and understands that responsibility. He has grown with that as well, he knows what is required.
“He is an intelligent footballer, he talks about the game and has an idea of what should be done.”
Moyes was also impressed with Baines’ last appearance in an England shirt, a 1-1 friendly draw with Ghana.
“I thought Leighton Baines was exceptional, especially in the first half,” he said.
“He never gave up, he hardly gave it away, he went on the runs, he was running forward, was looking to get in, he defended when he had to, so I thought he was exceptional.”
The Everton boss, who will give short shrift to any bids for Baines’ services this summer, was equally impressed by Phil Jagielka in the last two England games.
However, the Scot does not believes Jagielka has been done any favours by being deployed out of position by Fabio Capello.
He said: “Even when Jags was the left-sided centre-back, unless you know the details of playing there, it takes a while to get used to when you’ve been the right-sided one. He can play right-back, and he’ll say he can fill in and do the job as England wanted him to.
“The reason people look to Jags is because he is so versatile. Look at the Wales game, he came on in the closing minutes as a holding midfielder.
“It’s his versatility that makes him interesting, but if you ask him he’d say he’d rather play as the right-side centre-back.
“Kyle Walker would have played right-back against Ghana if Glen Johnson hadn’t been injured. But when Johnson went off, because Jags is so versatile, he was the obvious choice.”
