A few months ago, this would have been the punchline to a cruel joke. He's still not particularly good - many of his performances in black and white have been overrated - but Colback has exceeded those low expectations. Not many players directly cross the Tyne-Wear divide but Colback's brave decision appears to have paid off. Aged 25, the man with the rhyming name may be too old to be a 'fashionable' new international, compared to those later on in this list, but there's a frightening lack of good English central midfielders. Hodgson might be wise to trial Colback in a friendly before pursuing him further, but Pardew's favourite player looks set for an exciting 2015.
From Chester-le-Street, with Newcastle as my spiritual home. 24 years old, I'm at Sunderland University studying for a Sports Journalism MA. It's all about football and WWE. Wordplay jokes and puns are also encouraged.
