England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has singled out Tunisiaattacker and former Sunderland teammate Wahbi Khazri for praise.
The playmaker, who captains his nation, has not played since injuring his thigh on loan at Rennes in April.
However, Khazri is deemed so instrumental to Tunisia’s World Cup plans that he is expected to start against the Three Lions at the Volgograd Arena on Monday night.
“Wahbi’s a decent player,” Everton’s Pickford told BBC Sport. “He kept us up when we were at Sunderland [in 2016], scoring some good goals.
“Whoever plays will have to be careful of his corners because he doesn’t mind a shot from corners and he likes a shot from outside the box as well.
“He’s got ability and quality. He proved that at Sunderland. We’ve been watching a bit of Tunisia and they look a decent side and look like they have got positive types of players so we have got to be up for it and no doubt we will be.”
Khazri has been linked with a loan switch to Besiktas but new Sunderland owner Stewart Donald insists that the 27-year-old will be playing for club in League One next term unless they get “a decent fee”.