With Kieran Trippier failing to make much of an impression at Euro 2024 so far, Gary Neville believes England should try Bukayo Saka at left-back in the aftermath of Tuesday night’s goalless draw with Slovenia.
The Three Lions struggled for the third game in a row, despite the result ensuring they top their group.
England are a team struggling to gel and click, with many players underwhelming out in Germany as the knockout stages of the competition approaches.
Trippier, a right-back by trade, has struggled to provide much of an attacking outlet on the opposite side.
England news: Gary Neville would like to see Bukayo Saka at left-back after Slovenia draw
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With Luke Shaw still injured, England have a dilemma ahead of their round of 16 clash on Sunday night.
And Neville, speaking on ITV, believes it would be ‘brilliant’ to see Saka played at left-back.
However, the Manchester United icon can’t see Southgate going down that route given the threat Saka poses going forward.
“I think that it would be brilliant to see Bukayo Saka at left-back but I think Gareth Southgate won’t do that,” he said.
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“What you may get him to do is put Kyle Walker as left-back and put Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right who is a brilliant user of the ball on the right hand side.
“Having Kieran Tripper and Walker on either side means we’re blocking a little bit both sides and I think having Trent on one side is the best we’re going to get.”
Trippier, a veteran for England, has also addressed the result at the Cologne Stadium.
The Newcastle star admits performance levels must be raised if the Three Lions are to secure glory at this year’s European Championships.
But Trippier was also keen to remain everyone that England finished top of their group, too.
“The main objective from the start of the Euros was to qualify and we’ve done that,” he said.
“We’ve topped the group, but we know the performances haven’t been there.
“We are an honest group. We know we can do better, I’ll admit that.
“There’s a lot [we can do to improve]. You can see from before the tournament compared to now, we can be more aggressive on the press and create so many more chances, especially when you see the quality in our side.
“All we can do now is regroup and focus on what we can improve on.
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England news: Bukayo Saka struggled during his side’s goalless draw with Slovenia at Euro 2024
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“We’re happy that we’ve qualified but we know the performances can be better.”
And captain Harry Kane has also reacted to the result, with the Bayern Munich star pleased with how the Three Lions performed.
“It was a difficult night but I think it was our best performance out of the three,” he said.
“We had more energy, we pressed better, counter pressed better, did better with the ball.
“We just lacked a big of magic in the final third but that will come.
England news: Kieran Trippier failed to provide much of an attacking outlet at left-back during his side’s draw with Slovenia on Tuesday night
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“Another clean sheet which we will need if we are to go far in the tournament. We enjoy it and move on.
“All three performances have started in their own ways. Serbia we started well, Denmark we didn’t start so well, today we didn’t start great but we grew into the game.
“We started to create more as the game went on and the subs made a real difference, they brought a lot of energy.
“We just couldn’t find that final finish.”