West Ham’s Stuart Pearce has told talkSPORT on Wednesday morning that he would have selected Jesse Lingard for England’s Euro 2020 squad at the expense of Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.
On Tuesday, Lingard, who revived his career at West Ham this season, was omitted from the final 26-man squad, with four right-backs selected, including Liverpool’s academy product.
Before the final squad was submitted, a number of people were questioning whether TAA would find himself sitting at home rather than donning the colours of the Three Lions for this summer’s delayed Euros.
But Southgate perhaps surprised everyone by selecting all four right-backs in his extended 26-man squad yesterday.
However, Pearce, who worked with Lingard at West Ham during his loan spell at the club, thinks he should have been picked.
“I don’t think he could have done more to give Gareth the nudge,” said Pearce. “His performances at West Ham have been outstanding and that’s what has got him in the squad.
“For me, if anyone has an injury in the squad then I think he’s the first name to come in. I personally would probably have found a place for him at the cost of one of the right-backs.
On which right-back he would taken out: “Kyle Walker would be my number one choice. I think his form has been good. And he can play as a right-sided centre-half.
“The fact that Trippier can play left and right-back might edge him over James and Trent. It’s a toss of a coin. I think James, since Christmas, his form has consistently been slightly better than Trent’s, even though he has had a resurgence at the back end of this year.”
It’s going to be interesting to see how Southgate uses all four of his right-backs and whether any of them play in midfield.
England fans have previously seen Walker play in a back three, and more than likely, it will happen again, with the other three competing for that wing-back role.
It’s just a case of whether Southgate will, at any point, use either Trent or James, who are capable of playing in the middle of the park, as number eight’s.
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