Roy Keane has singled out an England player who will be "ripped to shreds" and "found out" when they come up against the so-called "top teams" at Euro 2024.
England will start their European Championship campaign on Sunday with a tough test against Serbia.
Gareth Southgate is expected to carry his Trent Alexander-Arnold midfield experiment into the Group C opener, although some are against the idea.
Earlier this week, Wayne Rooney made his feelings clear. “I wouldn’t have him [Trent] anywhere near the middle of the pitch," he said. "I’d have no problem with him playing at right-back."
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Southgate responded to those comments ahead of this weekend's game in Gelsenkirchen.
“Everybody’s more than entitled to opinions,” he said of Rooney’s comments. “That’s our world, we have to accept that. Then we have to go and show what we can do.
He added: “I’m really happy, I spoke to Trent about playing in this role just over a year ago now. It’s something he’s been really keen to do, he’s been really receptive to every bit of feedback and information he can.”
The idea of Alexander-Arnold playing in midfield at this summer's tournament has certainly sparked debate – and Roy Keane got involved on Friday with a withering assessment.
“It’s all about getting the balance right in your team," Keane said in his role as a pundit on ITV.
“They’ve got some brilliant individuals, we’ve mentioned that many times before. There are four or five players that would walk into any of the teams in this tournament but it’s getting that balance right.
“Talking about the defensive side of it, they have players who can go and win you football matches but it’s the problem with defending against the better teams.
“I think they’ll be fine in the group, I think Trent will be fine with his positioning in those matches, but it’s against the real top teams that I think he will be found out, very much so.
“In fact, I think he would be ripped to shreds if he plays against one of the better teams in central midfield. I don’t think he’d be up to it.”
As you can see in the footage above, fellow pundit and former Manchester United teammate Gary Neville also had his say.
“I think [Conor] Gallagher would come in in certain games and, to be fair, this idea of Foden going out to the left wing… this is not Paul Scholes being shoved out on the left wing," he said.
“Foden has played there before and he’s used to that position. It’s not like it’s something that is really weird.”
Topics: Roy Keane, England, Euro 2024, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Serbia
Jack Kenmare