- England star Luke Shaw hasn’t played since February due to a hamstring injury
- Kieran Trippier started at left-back for England in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Serbia
- LISTEN to It’s All Kicking Off! Chris Sutton reveals all on why he SLAPPED David Beckham
Rio Ferdinand has proposed a solution to Gareth Southgate amid England’s ongoing crisis at left-back, suggesting that Bukayo Saka could switch to the position if Kieran Trippier and Luke Shaw are ruled out with injury.
Newcastle full-back Trippier started the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 campaign against Serbia on Sunday in place of Shaw, who was picked as part of Southgate’s 26-man squad for Germany despite not playing a minute since mid-February.
Southgate, who said he would make a late call on Shaw before leaving him out of Sunday’s 1-0 win, was dealt a major blow on Wednesday as the Manchester United defender was forced to sit out of training again.
To make matters worse, Trippier went down in the closing stages against Serbia with an apparent knock and managed to play out the remainder of the game thanks to England’s secret ‘magic potion’ pickle juice, which helps players recover from cramp quickly.
Should the 33-year-old be ruled out of England’s second Euros game against Denmark on Thursday, Southgate would be without a recognised left-back to call upon, with utility man Joe Gomez the only other star in the squad to have played in the position at club level last season.
Ferdinand believes Saka, who started on the right wing for England against Serbia, could be the answer to Southgate’s problem.
‘Yeah, if Shaw’s not fit then 100 per cent, we’re bang in trouble,’ Ferdinand admitted on his podcast FIVE.
‘We would have to put Saka at left-back. I’d play Saka at left-back then I would.
‘If you ain’t got Shaw and you ain’t got Trippier then I would play Saka at left-back. I’d play it where as soon as we get possession Saka is a left winger.’
Although he is now widely viewed as one of the best wingers in the Premier League, Saka, 22, initially broke on to the scene as a stand-in left-back at Arsenal, covering the position in the absences of Kieran Tierney and Sead Kolasinac.
Without any other alternatives, the north London club called upon their teenage academy graduate to play in defence and the 18-year-old impressed, earning the trust of his manager before establishing himself as one of Arsenal’s most important attackers.
Ferdinand, who was an England international for 14 years between 1997 and 2011, was impressed with the winger’s performance against Serbia at the weekend.
He added: ‘Did you see how many times he stood up the full-back and destroyed him, like skinned him?
‘I thought Saka was really good. First 45, the wing-play he showed… you know what I liked about it? He mixed it up. He didn’t always come inside. He went on the outside a couple of times.
‘The defender didn’t know which way he was going to go but second half, when they put pressure on us, that was the problem. We didn’t respond well to that.’