GARY LINEKER has accused Gareth Southgate of "hanging Trent Alexander-Arnold out to dry" amid England's midfield experiment.
Southgate chose to play Liverpool right-back Alexander-Arnold alongside Declan Rice in midfield for England's first two Euro 2024 matches.
The Three Lions clinched a 1-0 win over Serbia before holding Denmark to a 1-1 draw last week.
However, both performances failed to impress.
Following England's drab display against the Danes, Southgate admitted that playing Alexander-Arnold in midfield was an "experiment".
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And now the Liverpool star is set to be dropped in favour of Conor Gallagher when the Three Lions take on Slovenia tonight.
Ex-England striker Lineker believes Alexander-Arnold has been "hung out to dry" as a result.
He said: "I do feel a bit for Trent Alexander-Arnold. I feel he's been hung out to dry a little bit.
"His manager says it's an experiment and now it looks like the experiment doesn't work.
"It’s very hard to play in a new position even when a team’s playing well.
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"But when a team’s struggling and a team’s disjointed, not together and not getting up the pitch, it becomes very difficult.
"I do feel for him because he’s an unbelievably talented player."
Meanwhile, Wayne Rooney believes Kobbie Mainoo and Adam Wharton would be better options in midfield.
He said: "Yeah, I’ve been quite critical of Trent.
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"I love Trent as a player as a full-back or as a right-back coming in at the right time but I think to play him in the middle of the pitch in international football, it’s so different to playing as a full-back.
"I’ve said it many times, I wouldn’t have played him there. But he’s [Southgate] got [Kobbie] Mainoo, he’s got [Adam] Wharton.
"For me, I play Jude [Bellingham] in the middle next to [Declan] Rice and you get your width with [Anthony] Gordon and [Phil] Foden."
