Gallagher in for Trent? Ranking England’s 15 benchwarmers on likelihood of gatecrashing Southgate’s first XI
Gareth Southgateās England team for Euro 2024 will surely change as they get deeper into the tournament. But who is most likely to gate-crash the starting XI?
15) Dean Henderson
The ex-Manchester United goalkeeper benefited from Sam Johnstoneās injury as he shone for Oliver Glasnerās Crystal Palace during the run-in. But two of his England teammates must be in the treatment room at the same time if heās to have a sniff of action at Euro 2024.
14) Aaron Ramsdale
Ramsdaleās lack of appearances for Arsenal this season means heās fortunate to make it into Southgateās final squad. Especially considering Englandās ābest goalkeeperā (according to Graeme Souness, anyway) missed out completely.Ā
The transfer-bound Gunnerās assigned Euro 2024 shirt number (No.13) suggests heās ahead of Henderson (No.23) in the mind of Southgate. But Jordan Pickford is one of the managerās favourites and the Everton stand-out justified his selection *once again* in Englandās tournament opener against Serbia.
13) Ivan Toney
A beneficiary of Southgate being allowed to select 26 players for Euro 2024 instead of 23, Toneyās form during the run-in was underwhelming after all the bells and whistles that came with his supposedly glorious post-betting ban return in January.
This is not dissuading Premier League clubs from moving for him, with Tottenham Hotspur reportedly likely to beat Manchester United to secure his signature. But the two strikers heās competing with were among the most in-form across Europe this season, so his hopes of a start are extremely slim.
12) Ollie Watkins
The Aston Villa stand-out is coming off the season of his life as head coach Unai Emery has helped develop him into a complete centre-forward.
Watkinsā differing approach to the No.9 in front of him should make him a useful option when Southgate inevitably has to consider a Plan B when things are going awry in a testing game. Yet as good as the Villa man has been, heās no Harry Kane and itās not a *bad* thing that heās becoming the new Erling Haaland for England.
11) Lewis Dunk
The Brighton manās disasterclass against Belgium in March canāt have done his chances of starting at Euro 2024 any good and heās fortunate to be in the squad ahead of Evertonās Jarrad Brantwaite.
Dunk is one of few veteran heads in this England squad and his calm presence behind the scenes could come in handy, but with other more in-form and versatile defensive options able to be called upon, heāll likely have to settle for the role of training ground morale-booster rather than doing anything of note on the pitch.
10) Cole Palmer
England could have perhaps done with Palmerās unwavering swagger in possession when Serbia was causing Southgate one too many headaches on Sunday, but the manager opted for safer options in Conor Gallagher, Jarrod Bowen and Kobbie Mainoo.
Palmerās remarkable debut season form for Chelsea made it a fair call for Southgate to opt for the 22-year-old over Tottenham Hotspurās James Maddison as his back-up No.10. Yet the performance of Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka against Serbia further established them as sure-fire starters in Southgateās 4-2-3-1 formation, so the Chelsea youngster will likely have to settle for being an impact substitute.
9) Adam Wharton
It was refreshing to see Southgate include Wharton in his squad after the Crystal Palace newcomer remarkably burst onto the scene during the second half of the season.
While Southgate has often previously gone against his insistence on player form being a key factor when selecting a squad, this complaint cannot be laid at his door for this tournament. But Wharton is very much on the periphery with a couple of teammates more likely to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold when that time comes.
8) Eberechi Eze
Palmerās form this season means he perhaps deserves to be a few places higher on this list, but he is a victim of Bellingham and Sakaās brilliance through the centre and the right respectively.
The left-wing spot is more up for grabs, though. Phil f***ing Fodenās form for Man City got England supporters giddy at the prospect of seeing him combine with Bellingham, Saka and Kane.Ā But his form internationally has almost always paled in comparison and he was frustratingly ineffective on the left flank against Serbia.
He is obviously a superb footballer and should have a similar status in this squad to Bellingham and Saka as a definite starter. But the door will open for other wide options to take his place if his sub-par performances continue. Eze is one such candidate to fill in on the left after his stellar end-of-season showings earned him a spot in Southgateās spot over an out-of-sorts Jack Grealish.
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7) Jarrod Bowen
There were very few positives to come from Englandās second-half performance against Serbia, but Bowenās impressive off-bench cameo briefly boosted spirits.
Bukayo Sakaās injury issue was one of several concerns for England heading into this tournament and should his muscle problem flare again, Bowen would be the next man up on the right.
6) Ezri Konsa
The Aston Villa defender was used pretty regularly by Southgate in the lead-up to this tournament and has operated all across the back four.
Luke Shawās injury woes forced Southgateās hand with a square peg in a round hole at left-back with Kieran Trippier, and Konsaās priceless versatility makes him a leading candidate to step in across the back four in times of need.
5) Joe Gomez
Same as Konsa, really.Ā With Shaw out of the picture *for now*, Gomez makes a serious case to start ahead of Trippier at left-back, especially as the Newcastle man endured a rare below-par season in 2023/24.
4) Kobbie Mainoo
The Manchester United star boy has come from nowhere to being on the brink of starting for England and thatās bloody impressive.
Heās the more fun of two candidates to start alongside Declan Rice when Southgate inevitably gives up on his Alexander-Arnold project later in the tournament.
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3) Anthony Gordon
Another midfield tweak would see Bellingham played in a deeper role with Rice, while Foden can be moved centrally after he masterfully guided Man City to another title while playing this role in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne.
But Southgate is seemingly being stubborn in his stance that Foden will play on the left and Bellingham will be his No.10. On one gameās evidence, this is to the detriment of the City man and should the manager opt to switch it up, Gordon ā who is one of ten Premier League stars to watch at Euro 2024 ā could provide England with more balance on the left flank as ā like Saka ā heās an out-and-out winger who is not insistent on drifting inside.
2) Luke Shaw
Marc Guehiās assured performance against Serbia eased some pre-tournament concerns about Englandās issues at centre-back, but the left-hand side is a problem.
Gordon would be a potential solution in an attacking sense if Southgate decides against persisting with Foden, but the left-winger does not get much support when Trippier is at left-back.
The Newcastle man is Mr Reliable from a defensive standpoint but offers very little going forward from the left. Englandās issues would decrease if Shaw can return to fitness as heās regularly shown that he steps up his form on the international stage but it will be a big ask given that heās been out of action with a hamstring injury since February.
1) Conor Gallagher
The addition of Gallagherās energy in place of Alexander-Arnold in the 69th minute against Serbia felt like a sign of things to come as Southgateās safety-first ideology returns later in the tournament.
This will inevitably be an unpopular decision, with the introduction of Mainoo or Wharton being more crowd-pleasing alternatives. There is no Clamour for Gallagher.
Gallagher would make England more resolute defensively, but the days of The Three Lions having to hang on for dear life in games should be past us, with Bellingham and Co. capable of dominating most sides in Europe through relentless retention of possession.
But this free-spirited approach will likely come during the post-Southgate era as itās hard to imagine Englandās current boss making the best use of his attacking talents and ā through gritted teeth ā committing fully to a front-foot approach in a full 90 minutes of a tense knockout tie.
So Gallagher it is then.
READ NEXT:Ā Jude Bellinghamās England (just) beat Serbia: 16 Conclusions on an unnecessarily nervy opener
