Danny Mills has claimed that Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane and Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka are just some of the players that look ‘frightened’ playing for England, as he told talkSPORT.
England suffered another morale-sapping defeat on Friday night, this time to Italy in the UEFA Nations League, with Kane starting up front and Gareth Southgate using Arsenal’s star boy as a left-sided wing-back.
There was pressure already on Southgate heading into the game, with many questioning the team’s performances, his team selections and the form of the Three Lions heading into the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Well, things went from worse to even more depressing for England fans in Italy because it was another performance of turgid nature and problems.
It doesn’t help when players like Saka, who have been thriving on the right for Arsenal, are being used as wing-backs, but that’s what Southgate is deciding.
Nonetheless, former England right-back Mills named the players who he feels are playing without freedom and like they are scared.
“Now they seemed to have reverted to type a little bit,” said Mills. “After going 22 games unbeaten, you don’t win for four, then lose another and suddenly now they look frightened again and scared to express themselves.
“That’s not the Phil Foden we see for Manchester City, or the Bukayo Saka for Arsenal, or the Jude Bellingham for Dortmund.
“Even Harry Kane. He drifts in and out of games. And that’s not the Raheem Sterling we see. Someone like Jack Grealish attacks players when he would come on. They look frightened of making mistakes. Has the press got into their heads into possibly making mistakes?”
SOUTHGATE WON’T LAST LONG
There’s no point in Southgate getting sacked now because, months before the World Cup, it makes no sense.
But, one thing is for sure, at this current rate, he won’t last long because the team is performing like Malta, despite having Premier League and Champions League quality players on display.
How England performs in Qatar might just decide what happens to Southgate in the long run because, if it’s an early exit, then he should probably wave goodbye to his job.
Both Kane and Saka, just like at Euro 2020, are expected to be key cogs of that wheel, but will he even play Saka in his natural position in order for him to thrive?
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