Gareth Southgate is planning a significant adjustment to England’s midfield for their final Euro 2024 group match against Slovenia.
He opted to start Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher in place of Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The Three Lions will secure the top spot in Group C and progress to the knockout stages if they defeat Slovenia in Cologne on Tuesday night.
England’s Euro 2024 journey began with a tense 1-0 win over Serbia, followed by a 1-1 draw against Denmark.
Alexander-Arnold, who started alongside Declan Rice in both matches, has been a point of contention due to his mixed performances.
He was substituted at halftime in each game, leading to speculation about his role in the squad.
According to The Athletic, Gallagher, who was a standout for Chelsea last season by featuring in almost all of their Premier League matches and captaining the team in Reece James’ absence, is set to replace Alexander-Arnold against Slovenia.
Despite his pivotal role at Chelsea, Gallagher has been the subject of transfer rumours, with Tottenham and Aston Villa showing interest.
Alexander-Arnold, known for his creativity, received criticism from Manchester United legend Roy Keane, who felt the Liverpool player had been “found out.” Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Rio Ferdinand also suggested that the experiment of playing Alexander-Arnold in midfield was unsuccessful, urging Southgate to rethink his strategy.
However, Declan Rice defended his teammate after the draw with Denmark, telling ITV, “It’s funny because people were calling for Trent to play in midfield. Half the country are calling for Trent to play in midfield, and then you play him in midfield, and then you want to bring him down. I don’t get it, I don’t get it at all. I’ll defend all of my boys until the day I never pull on an England shirt. Trent is one of the best players I’ve ever seen. Don’t call for someone to play in a position and then backtrack all because you think he’s had a bad game or something.”
