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Southgate claims Gascoigne last world-class England midfielder

England manager Gareth Southgate is desperate to find the next Paul Gascoigne.

Southgate believes 'Gazza', who played Tottenham Hotspur and Rangers among others, was the last world-class English midfielder.

"The only one in my lifetime is Paul Gascoigne and I'm not sure he was developed, I think he was a consequence of a unique talent," Southgate said of his former team-mate.

"I think what is happening at junior level is that there is more emphasis on technical ability, there is more, right from five, six, seven-year-olds, there is more emphasis on being able to handle the ball and play.

"We're seeing that with some of our junior teams. But we can see there's a period of time for those players to come through.

"We can see there's a few players around our squad that have the ability to do that, but Spain have had a production line for a long period of time.

"Look at those who have gone and those that come into the team. Of that type of player, they've produced more than any other team in the world."

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Nedeljko Djukic

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