Arsenal legend Ian Wright has given his thoughts on how England can improve their attacking displays, stating his belief that Cole Palmer should be brought into the starting line-up. The Three Lions ended their Euro 2024 group stage with just two goals scored after a 0-0 draw against Slovenia in the final match.
Despite having the likes of Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka leading the line for England, Gareth Southgate has failed to get the players to click going forward. Kane struck against Denmark while Jude Bellingham crashed in a header against Serbia in the opening fixture, but it’s been a poor showing in front of goal otherwise.
However, the manager does have talented options to turn to in the knockout stages of the competition in order to turn the nation’s fortunes around in the creativity and goalscoring department. Kane has often looked like an isolated figure and hasn’t been involved in games anywhere near as much as hoped.
Ian Wright’s Solution to England Woes
It involves a huge change for Bukayo Saka
Wright was working as a pundit for ITV to cover England’s final group stage match and the former striker has given his radical thoughts on how the team can get the best out of their superstar forward, Kane. The 60-year-old thinks Palmer should be given more time, commenting: “He’s looking to get it into you, any time he gets on the ball. He’s looking to progress it, play it forward, play one-twos, he’s a progressive player.”
The Chelsea star has only played 19 minutes of a possible 270 in Germany, but he did look sharp when he was introduced against Slovenia. The issue Southgate has is that another of his best players, Saka, also played on the right flank. So, how should this dilemma be solved? Well, Wright claimed:
“I saw a stat about Kieran Trippier being our second most productive player, touches and passes. I’m thinking, how are we going to get Palmer into the team if that’s the case? With how naturally left-sided Saka is, could you maybe put Saka at left back, and put Palmer on the right? Simply because we need to get some balance and fluidity in the game.”
The Arsenal man has previously played in a full-back role for his club but has now developed into one of the best wingers in the Premier League, meaning this switch would be a left-field one. Not all fans on social media have agreed with the switch, but Southgate does have several big decisions to come ahead of his team’s Round of 16 tie.
England’s Attacking Problems
The Three Lions have only netted two goals at Euro 2024
England went into the major international tournament as one of the favourites to go all the way and lift the trophy. However, only Serbia have scored fewer goals than the misfiring Three Lions to date after the first three rounds of games.
Kane, Saka and Foden found the net a staggering 71 times between them in their respective leagues during the 2023/24 season but have managed to do so just once at Euro 2024 after the group stages. Kane’s clever finish against Denmark is the only strike the front line have mustered, and Southgate may need to re-assess his approach. While Wright’s suggestions may seem bizarre at first, at least he’s offering potential solutions.
England Forwards at Euro 2024 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Player | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
Harry Kane | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Bukayo Saka | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Phil Foden | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Cole Palmer | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Ivan Toney | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ollie Watkins | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Anthony Gordon | 1 | 0 | 0 |
All statistics in this article are courtesy of Transfermarkt (Correct as of 26/06/2024).