Speaking on the Wrighty’s House Podcast, Ian Wright has shared what Gareth Southgate said to him about Bukayo Saka before he’d even picked his squad for the Euros.
Saka has been one of England’s key players at this tournament, but before the competition started it was thought that he may not even get the chance to be in the squad due to the amount of talent the Three Lions have at their disposal.
However, Southgate seemingly always had Saka in his plans, telling Wright that he absolutely adores him before the tournament had even started.
What’s been said?
Wright says that Southgate gave Saka a glowing review before the tournament had even started.
“I spoke to Gareth before the squad was announced and everybody gets 5 minutes with him, and I got in with him and all he said was ‘Ian, tell me about Bukayo Saka.’ That’s all he said ‘Tell me about him, because we absolutely adore him.’ It was then when I realised my guy was going to be involved and he’s going to be a focal point,” Wright said.
Knows his stuff
Southgate has silenced every single critic he’s ever had over the past month, but the fact that he’d earmarked Saka for a key role before the tournament had even started shows just how knowledgeable he is.
It would have been easy to write off any Arsenal player heading into this tournament due to their poor season under Mikel Arteta, but Saka stood out and Southgate took notice of that.
His faith in Saka has paid off as he’s put in great performance after great performance and now he could be set to start in the biggest game England have had since 1966.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
