Gareth Southgate recommended England had been lacking Kalvin Phillips after their dismal 1-1 draw in opposition to Denmark.
Southgate namechecked the out-of-form midfielder after his “experiment” with taking part in Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield at Euro 2024 failed as soon as once more.
In a damning indictment of the opposite choices accessible to him, the England supervisor stated: “We’ve got been looking for an answer in midfield for seven or eight years. If we hadn’t had Declan Rice, I don’t know the place we’d have been. Sadly, Kalvin was not doable for us for this match.
“So, we’re looking for one thing completely different and a few of that has labored, a few of that hasn’t labored so nicely. However, through the years, that’s been a constant downside. We’ve tried to seek out one of the best ways of fixing it, and we’ve acquired to do this within the coming weeks as nicely.
“They’re the issues and we have to discover the options. We have to assess the 2 performances and work by it collectively. In the event you permit gamers to select passes then they will play passes which might damage you.”
Phillips was the discover of England’s final Euros marketing campaign, along with his performances serving to earn him a big-money switch to Manchester Metropolis the next summer time.
However the transfer backfired spectacularly, with Pep Guardiola accusing him of being chubby – feedback for which the Metropolis supervisor later apologised – and Phillips making simply 16 appearances earlier than being loaned to West Ham United in January.
He made the swap within the hope of taking part in his method into England’s Euro 2024 squad however that, too, fell flat.
Admitting taking part in Alexander-Arnold had been an experiment, Southgate added: “He’s had some moments the place he’s delivered what we thought he would. We all know it’s an experiment. We all know we don’t have a pure alternative for Kalvin Phillips. We’re making an attempt various things and, in the meanwhile, we’re not flowing as we’d like.”
Gary Neville recommended Rice was not adequate to play the holding position Phillips had as soon as made his personal.
“When he goes to obtain the ball deep, I believe he’s fairly primary at that,” Neville instructed ITV.
Southgate additionally lamented the absence of Luke Shaw, who continues to be not match sufficient to begin.
“For the time being, it’s clear when it comes to the stability of the crew that we don’t have our greatest left-back accessible,” he stated. “So, that denies you the chance for that stability.”