So how good is Luke Woodland on the pitch?

Luke at left in the FA Youth Cup

A month ago, I wrote a blog about a father asking how to get a hold of PFF and the powers that be so his son can "tryout" for the Azkals. It generated massive amounts of traffic into this blog, comments stretching from the hopeful to the incredulous. Rest assured, through that blog, the two parties have gotten a hold of each other and now have direct contact. From my last correspondence with Luke's father a certain "European scout" will be present during a game of Luke's and will judge his suitability for the Azkals from there.

So now you would be wondering, how good, or bad Luke really is on the pitch? To start, if you didn't know, Luke is in the youth team of EPL club The Bolton Wanderers and he is also a member of Englands U17 team. They just won a tournament, guess who one of the stars in that team is? Yup, read on below:

Portugal, Algarve Cup. Luke is second from right

Woodland Stars For England Under-17s

Posted on: Mon 06 Feb 2012

It has been a great week for Bolton Wanderers' scholar Luke Woodland, who has helped England Under-17s win the Algarve Tournament in southern Portugal.

The central midfielder featured in all three of the Young Lions matches, including starts against Holland on Saturday and France on Monday morning.

Prior to this, Woodland had been introduced as a second half substitute in the first game on Thursday against Portugal.

In the round robin competition, England finished top of the group after recording a 2-1 win against the hosts Portugal, a 2-2 draw against Holland and a 2-1 win over France.

Bolton Wanderers Under-18s Head Coach David Lee said: "Luke's call up was deserved because his performances this season have been of a consistently high standard.

"It's no surprise that he has done well in the tournament because he is a quality player and we have high hopes for him here at Bolton.

"He has got to keep playing well in the youth games from now until the end of the season, and with the way that he is progressing then he could well find himself playing more reserve team matches on a regular basis."

Lee's Assistant Coach, Tony Kelly, added: "As a club we are delighted for Luke. It goes to show that the academy is getting the exposure it deserves.

"It really is a selling point for the academy that our players are progressing and are getting an opportunity to play for their country.

"Obviously David Lee and I are pleased for him, as too are his team-mates, but he will be treated no differently once he returns.

"Luke is a level-headed lad and I'm sure that he will continue to work hard for the team as we look to kick-on in the second half of the season."

*Article from The Bolton Wanderers FC website. http://www.bwfc.co.uk/page/Under18s/0,,1004~2601919,00.html

So there you have it. Here's hoping Luke can save some time for the future addition of the Azkals. Between young guns Jacques Van Bossche, Neckson Leonora, Reymark Fernandez, Basa and Barbaso among others, I think we've got  the defensive side covered for the next couple of years, don't you think?