Andros Townsend's England Form Can Be Tottenham Tonic in Champions League Chase

Andros Townsend's tremendous equaliser for England against Italy on Wednesday should not have surprised anyone. The Tottenham Hotspur winger's comfort at and suitability to international football has been evident since his debut in late 2013.

"Andros has got that ability to get turned around very quickly and run at enormous pace with skill at defenders and that's something defenders don't like," England manager Roy Hodgson said, per BBC Sport.

Townsend's frequent summoning of these abilities—in the crucial World Cup qualifier against Montenegro last season, right through to putting one past arguably the world's best goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon—show why he is a weapon his national team boss trusts to deploy so often.

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Consistently delivering under the relentless demands of club football has proven trickier for Townsend. His England performance reiterated why he could be a significant difference-maker in Tottenham's Champions League chase (or, at least their attempts to finish the season positively). But it will require him finding and maintaining a sustained level of performance he has not quite managed yet.

The month of March was an apt representation of the recent mixed results Townsend has offered in response to this challenge.

A brilliant solo goal helped see off Swansea City before an assist for Harry Kane's opener led a solid attacking display in the win against former club Queens Park Rangers. That was followed up, though, by the ignominy of a first-half withdrawal during Spurs' comprehensive defeat by Manchester United. He again struggled to make an impact in the 4-3 defeat of Leicester City a week later.

Townsend being the one withdrawn so early at Old Trafford was in keeping with a perception of him as a luxury player, someone whose work is not yet so trusted as to be indispensable (like Christian Eriksen, for instance).

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He struggled against an effectively oppressive performance by left-back Daley Blind but did not play any worse than his team-mates. Nonetheless, it was that his speedy, direct wing-play was regarded as less likely to be missed than Eriksen's passing or Nacer Chadli's greater physical presence.

Even so, head coach Mauricio Pochettino still selected Townsend at home to Leicester. That was his sixth domestic start in a row. No small thing for a player who had to bide his time for such opportunities this season.

If Townsend's last couple of Spurs performances left him susceptible to Pochettino changing things up for Burnley on Sunday, the Italy cameo will have given the Argentine pause for thought.

An argument can still be made for Erik Lamela being recalled in Townsend's place as Spurs look to improve their overall attacking work (though Chadli will also be under pressure here). But Pochettino's recent preference for the latter suggests he currently values what the Englishman brings to his team more. A belief which will have been reinforced by the way Townsend seized his moment against Italy.

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An international friendly is not always the best barometer of such things. This, though, was a competitive contest in Turin, one the Azzurri were keen to turn into a fillip during their ongoing period of stagnation. Townsend got the better of them in a way none of Kane, Wayne Rooney or Theo Walcott were able to (though the efforts of the former two in keeping England in the match should not be overlooked).

The point is approaching where we will have a firmly fixed understanding of the 23-year-old's level (or as good as). Staying at his current rate of performance he will deserve to be appraised as a good-standard Premier League contributor who possesses a skill set capable of being utilised in big games, albeit inconsistently.

There is a little time, however, for Townsend to show he might be even more than that.

Eight games remain for him this season to show moments like his England goal can be the norm and not just an occasional thing—a big part of the cake, not just the icing on top. A good run right now would aid Tottenham considerably, and in turn his standing in the Pochettino regime.

It might prove the case that Townsend is not that player, that his inconsistencies have been a reflection of this all along. But while he continues to produce goals like Wednesday's or last month's against Swansea, the feeling will remain he has it in him to be a bit special.