GARETH SOUTHGATE IS 'WASTING' ENGLAND STAR AT EURO 2024, SAYS JERMAIN DEFOE

Former England striker Jermain Defoe says Gareth Southgate is ‘wasting’ Phil Foden on the left flank at Euro 2024 and believes the Manchester City star has to start centrally against Switzerland.

Foden was named the Premier League’s Player of the Season on the back of a phenomenal individual campaign with Pep Guardiola’s champions but the 24-year-old has failed to replicate his extraordinary club form on the international stage in Germany.

With Jude Bellingham playing at No.10, Foden has been forced out wide, on the left of front three with England captain Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka, and the attacking midfielder has looked far from comfortable in his new role this summer.

There have been some calls for Foden to be dropped versus Switzerland this weekend and while Southgate is set to shake up his formation after yet another below-par display versus Slovakia, the six-time Premier League winner is expected to continue his run in the side.

It’s understood the Three Lions boss is even considering playing both Foden and Bellingham in the middle of the park, something Defoe hopes to see in Dusseldorf tomorrow evening.

‘He shouldn’t be playing on the left. Someone like a Phil Foden has to be in between the lines, he has to be central,’ Defoe told Up Front with Simon Jordan.

‘With someone like Phil Foden, if you can get the ball to him in the right areas, he will cause damage and he will hurt you. I just feel like he’s wasted, to be honest.’

The ex-Tottenham, West Ham and Portsmouth forward added: ‘When Joe used to play on the left for England, I always used to think that if he played central and you can get someone like that the ball and they can do something that’s off the cuff then we would have a better chance of winning the game.

‘Listen, every England fan is saying the same thing about Phil Foden. He has to be playing central.

‘I don’t think we should be playing two holding midfielders, that’s just my opinion. I think we should be playing one and you play Foden and Bellingham.’

According to Defoe, England have lacked any sort of ‘structure’ in the final thirdand require a vastly improved performance to beat the impressive Swiss this weekend.

‘I just don’t understand why you need two holding midfielders,’ he continued.

‘I think at the moment it’s just, “Give the ball to Saka, he’ll do something”, or Foden or Bellingham, or, “Just get the ball to Harry”.

‘There doesn’t seem to be any structure or patterns to get there.’

Despite being England’s joint-top scorer in Germany, Kane has been worryingly anonymous for the most part and the striker’s displays have come in for heavy criticism from fans, pundits and former players.

But Defoe – Kane’s ex-team-mate at Tottenham – believes the England captain will use the added pressure as motivation heading into Saturday’s quarter-final encounter.

‘When you’re playing for England it’s a different sort of pressure, but it’s a good pressure because at the end of the day they’re the chosen ones,’ Defoe said.

‘How many people would love to be where you’re at? Playing for England at a major tournament, you have to enjoy and embrace it, because when you’ve finished playing, what you would do to be back there… it’s what dreams are made of.

‘With someone like Harry Kane, he’s somehow who would enjoy that pressure, to be honest.

‘There was a lot of noise, people saying to rest him or drop him. You can’t.

‘With Harry Kane, at any moment he can win you the game because he is one of those forwards.’

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

2024-07-05T14:32:51Z dg43tfdfdgfd