[新聞] Clarke: Sinclair can make WC squad ， 描述： August 24, 2013

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Steve Clarke believes Scott Sinclair can use his season-long loan switch to West Bromwich Albion to gatecrash Roy Hodgson's plans and force his way into England's World Cup squad.



The former Chelsea and Swansea forward has moved south for what is believed to be a £2m hire fee, with a view to a permanent deal next summer.

And his Hawthorns head coach had no hesitation in predicting a potentially golden few months for him after a year of frustration at Manchester City.

"Scott has to get his career back on track," Clarke said. "He's a young player and it's World Cup year - can he be part of the squad? Yes, of course.

"He is a winger who scores goals, so he has a lot to play for. He is hoping that coming into West Brom will give him the same platform that Swansea did. For all the young wingers who want to go to Brazil, there's a great chance."

The first big decision for Clarke is whether to use Sinclair in today's game at Everton, where Nicolas Anelka was going to be ruled out by injury even before his sensational announcement about retirement plans

The Scot says he is likely to use two strikers at Goodison but will be mindful of the risk of asking the new arrival to do too much too soon.

"Scott is so excited but I'd be a bit concerned he might run out of energy after 20 minutes," he added. "I am genuinely excited … he's so hyped up. He's like a breath of fresh air about the place. He came in buzzing and lifted everybody's spirits.

"When you run with such a small squad, it's important to have players who are versatile and, although he's a pure winger, he can also play through the middle and just behind. He started as a striker.

"He made a big decision to leave Chelsea when he felt he was not going to break through. He could have been lazy but was ambitious and did so well that one of the other top teams in the League chose to spend £6m on him.

"He didn't get the chance to show much there but he is living up to his potential. If I spent £6m, I'd have to play him!"

Clarke, relieved that Sinclair is shunning the city lights after his move to the Midlands - "He told me he wanted to be out in the sticks with old men like me!" - will not be targeting another new striker as doubts grow over Anelka's future.

"Replacing Nicolas is not something I have thought about. I have good players up front. Shane Long is a good player and I have brought in Matej Vydra, who has been electric in training. Markus Rosenberg has had a good pre-season and is looking forward to showing he can do it in the Premier League.

"There are three there who are desperate to prove themselves in the Premier League, so at the moment I think I'm okay. We don't have that much time now but some of the other targets are close. "

The head coach has also made it clear that Anelka must play fair by the club despite having reportedly cleared out his locker at the club's training ground in response to the shock of his agent's death last weekend.

"There are contractual things to bear in mind," he said. "He has to come back and speak to the club. The chairman is back in the country now and he will want to speak to him as well.

"You can't put yourself in someone else's mind. It's clear he needed some time to think. Also, he has been lying on the treatment table this week and he loves being on the training ground. He has not been in a good place."