Paul Merson has stated that he can’t see Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Manchester City duo Jack Grealish or Phil Foden passing Tottenham and England striker Harry Kane the ball at the 2022 FIFA World Cup because they are ‘dribblers’.
This comes after Lee Hendrie picked his starting XI for England’s World Cup opener against Iran on Monday and he started Saka, Foden and Grealish behind the Tottenham hitman.
On the Premier League stage for Spurs, Kane has 12 goals to his name and he is cooking like never before, and now he will be searching for a second Golden Boot on the world’s biggest stage.
When in Tottenham colours, Kane has had a habit of dropping deep, dictating play and spraying around passes for fun.
But that’s something that doesn’t really work with England because he is playing with far better players, especially those with creative minds.
As a result, former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie wants him to stop dropping deep, as he selected Saka, Foden and Grealish to play behind him against Iran, but Paul Merson explained why that won’t happen or work, as he told Sky Sports (19/11/22 at 2:15 pm).
“I want to see Harry Kane, not dropping deep into midfield and picking up the ball,” said Hendrie. “I want to see him playing in that six-yard area where he’s going to be dangerous.
“When he starts dropping out into positions where we have got three players that can really cause problems.”
Merson responded: “We have three dribbles there, so Kane will be coming short to get the ball because he’s not going to get past it.”
Hendrie added: “Saka’s got the put a good delivery into the box. Grealish has got to try and produce balls into Kane, so we have to have him sitting through the middle where he doesn’t (drop deep).”
Merson then stated: “I just can’t see them three giving him the ball. They are all dribbles. Maddison and Mount are the only ones who play on the half-turn and then bang, they play it. That’s what Kane needs. Maddison has done it with Vardy a lot. I have watched Mount a lot. He doesn’t mess about.”
ENGLAND ATTACK AT THE WORLD CUP
Gareth Southgate is known for his defensive-first style, so given what Kane is used to on the domestic stage, then it’s nothing new to him.
But Southgate has some seriously strong attacking stars to pick from, including a number of in-form players that Kane will surely want starting.
Over across north London, Bukayo Saka is at the top of his game and he needs to be starting England’s World Cup opener against Iran and so does one of the best young talents at the World Cup in Manchester City’s Phil Foden.
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