Gareth Southgate has identified Declan Rice's midfield partner for England's first Euro 2024 game

It has been one of the biggest topics of debate ahead of England's Euro 2024 opener against Serbia. Who will start in midfield alongside Declan Rice?

A handful of players are competing for that all-important central midfield spot.

Adam Wharton caught the eye with an impressive 28-minute cameo against Bosnia last week, and after the full-time whistle, Gareth Southgate said he is the kind of midfielder his team has been missing “for seven or eight years".

Conor Gallagher, who played the full 90 minutes in that 3-0 win over Bosnia, also received praise from his manager, with his performance being described as "important" alongside Declan Rice.

Then, a few days later, Kobbie Mainoo was handed a deserved start in their friendly clash against Iceland and again, Southgate lauded one of his youngest players.

“We wouldn’t have any hesitation in starting him," the Three Lions manager said about Mainoo. "He’s shown incredible maturity, he progresses the ball forward quickly."

Wharton, Gallagher and Mainoo are certainly in contention to play an important role at this summer's tournament in Germany, but it appears another player will start Euro 2024 alongside Declan Rice.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was recently handed the number eight shirt, is 'at the front of the queue' to start alongside the 26-year-old, according to a report from The Telegraph.

A source told the publication: “A lot can change, obviously, but Trent was given the No 8 shirt for a reason.”

Southgate was impressed with Alexander-Arnold's midfield performance alongside Gallagher as he experimented in the 3-0 win.

"We were very pleased," he said when asked about the Liverpool man.

"It is a role he is discovering and he is hungry to learn and has been since I talked to him about playing it a year or so ago, and equally what we saw in the last half an hour is also an important option for us as well.

"We are going to have different challenges in this tournament, and we are going to have to have different ways of solving problems that teams pose us."

Image credit: Getty

In addition to Trent being in pole position to start against Serbia, Bukayo Saka is a fitness worry for England, say The Mirror.

Saka, who missed Arsenal's final game of the season against Everton, has been forced to sit out some recent training sessions.