Ian Wright dismisses Gareth Southgate claim that had England fans fuming

21 June 2024 , 11:51

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Ian Wright dismisses Gareth Southgate claim that had England fans fuming

Ian Wright insists England DO have players capable of filling in for Kalvin Phillips after Gareth Southgate bemoaned the absence of the Manchester City star.

England have made a disappointing start to their Euro 2024 campaign after edging past Serbia in their Group C opener and then drawing 1-1 with Denmark.

Trent Alexander-Arnold has been deployed alongside Declan Rice in midfield for both games with Phillips left out of the squad after barely featuring for the Premier League champions last term. Speaking after Thursday's drab draw with the Danes, Southgate claimed Phillips' absence has been a factor in England's disjointed performances - but Wright believes Adam Wharton and Kobbie Mainoo can play the same role.

After Alexander-Arnold was substituted for the second match running, Southgate was asked to explain the decision and said: "I wanted to get Conor [Gallagher] on, we needed some energy and to press better.

"[Alexander-Arnold] had some moments where he's delivered what we thought he would. We know it's an experiment and we know that we don't have a natural replacement for Kalvin Phillips. We're trying some different things and at the moment we're not flowing as we'd like, that's for sure."

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But Wright, who is covering the tournament as a pundit for ITV, swiftly quashed those claims by insisting that England have players capable of filling in for Phillips in the form of Mainoo and Wharton, who both impressed for Manchester United and Crystal Palace respectively last season.

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Ian Wright feels Adam Wharton and Kobbie Mainoo are both capable of filling the gap left by Kalvin Phillips (ITV)

Explaining that he would give Wharton the nod in response to Southgate's claim, Wright said: "It's either Kobbie (Mainoo) or Wharton, but I'd probably put Wharton in there simply because he's the closest I've seen to Fabian Ruiz.

"When I've seen him in the last few games for Palace at the end of the season, his calmness. He's calm, he's got a pass. He's a very intelligent player and he's somebody that wouldn't panic in this situation. He's been picked in the squad.

"Listening to Gareth, he mentioned about Kalvin Phillips and he's the only one in the country who can play that role, I don't believe that. I believe Adam Wharton can play it. I think Kobbie Mainoo can play it as well. You've picked them. Now we're in a situation where it's not desperation because we've got four points, but we're in a place where we need something different, we need to change something."

Dan Marsh