Wayne Rooney claims one England player is 'all over the place defensively' ahead of Euro 2024 opener

Wayne Rooney has revealed that he loves one England player but does not trust him in his predicted role at Euro 2024.

England’s Euros campaign gets underway on Sunday as they travel to Arena AufSchalke, home to second-tier German side Schalke, to face Serbia.

Kicking off at 8pm BST, England will hope to get their tournament off to a winning start as they head into the tournament as one of the favourites to lift the trophy due to their wealth of talent across the pitch.

But ahead of the game, Gareth Southgate faces the challenge of selecting his starting team for the match, with several players competing for the same spot in the line-up.

While Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham are certain to start in midfield, the third spot is up for grabs - with Conor Gallagher, Kobbie Mainoo and Trent Alexander-Arnold all contending to start.

Alexander-Arnold appears to be the favourite to face Serbia, but former England captain Wayne Rooney is not convinced in his defensive capabilities.

Speaking on The Overlap’s Euros fan debate, brought to you by Sky Bet, Rooney said: “I think he (Southgate) will go with Trent. I think he’s probably the most gifted player we have with the ball at his feet.

“Defensively he is all over the place. I wouldn’t have him anywhere near the middle of the pitch. I love Trent actually. On the ball, the stuff he can do nobody else can do it, but…”

The 25-year-old started in midfield for England’s friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina, scoring the second goal of the 3-0 victory for the Three Lions.

Alexander-Arnold came on as a substitute in England's 1-0 defeat to Iceland. (Image: Getty)

But former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has echoed Rooney’s concerns about Alexander-Arnold, believing he hasn’t played enough games in midfield to start there for England.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, he said: “I think Mainoo plays a part in this tournament, but I don’t start him initially. Same as Trent.

“One of those two, I think, could almost come in and take a shirt at some point maybe.

“Trent’s ridiculous. I can’t talk highly enough about him with the ball. His passing range is like De Bruyne, Beckham-esque, like them levels, right?

“Put the ball anywhere you want, but he’s, I don’t know, right now he’s not at that level. Has he played enough games in midfield?”