Ian Wright urges England to start 22-year-old instead of Newcastle ace
England have been quite disappointing in the UEFA Euro 2024, so far winning one of their group games and drawing the other two.
Although they have made it to the next round of the competition, they will need to improve their performance in order to do well in the tournament this summer. Former England international striker and Arsenal legend Ian Wright has now urged Gareth Southgate to drop Kieran Trippier in favour of Cole Palmer.
The Chelsea forward had an exceptional club campaign, but he has not had a look in with the national team in the Euros so far. Wright believes that England need more fluidity in the attack and therefore they should look to make way for Palmer. He has also suggested using Bukayo Saka as left back instead of Trippier.
Since the Arsenal star is a naturally left-sided player, he could add greater balance to the side.
“I saw a stat about Kieran Trippier being our second most productive player in terms of touches and passes,” he said on ITV.
“How are we going to get Palmer into the team if that is the case? With how naturally left-sided Saka is, maybe can you put Saka at left-back and put Palmer on the right. Simply because we need to get some balance and fluidity into the game.
“As great as Saka has done for England with his goals and assists, he’s a natural left-sided player. He started playing for England and Arsenal at left-back. If that’s going to give the balance and get Cole Palmer in the team then it is something you have to look at.”
It will be interesting to see if Palmer gets opportunities in the knockout rounds of the tournament. There is no doubt that he is a top-class talent with a bright future and he could make a big difference for England going forward. There is no dearth of options in the attack for England, but they will need to be diligent with their team selections if they want to win the Euros this summer.
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