On Friday night, England lost 1-0 to Iceland but in the starting line-up, there was one Crystal Palace player whose absence was felt.
Despite four Crystal Palace players being named in the 26-man squad which will head to Germany, only one started the 1-0 loss to Iceland on Friday night.
Marc Guehi lined up alongside John Stones, while Adam Wharton, Dean Henderson and Eberechi Eze all sat on the bench watching the Three Lions lose.
Eze only got a 13-minute cameo against Iceland but after how bad Anthony Gordon played, Eze surely gets longer against Serbia a week on Monday.
But before this game even happened, Rio Ferdinand saw this issue coming and therefore argued that Eze must be in the team, perhaps Gareth Southgate will listen now. Here’s what he said…
READ MORE: Get to know Eberechi Eze, the versatile Crystal Palace and England star
Rio Ferdinand says England need to find a place for Eberechi Eze
Before a ball was kicked against Iceland, Ferdinand was giving his verdict on the squad Southgate had just announced and in doing so made the case for one player to start.
Speaking on his FIVE YouTube channel upon reacting to the Euros squad announcement, Ferdinand argued that England must find a way to start Eze.
“I think it’s interesting to see also where Eze is going to fit in. Eze, the way he moves, he’s silky, international football seems like it suits him as well, he can slow the tempo down, then speed it up.
“Eze is an interesting one for me because I would may be try and find a place in this team for him as well. That left-hand side might be something to try out.
“The kid has just got it. He’s a cage footballer who knows how to beat people with ease anywhere he plays, anywhere on the pitch.”
Eze showing his quality would be bad for Palace
While we all want to see Eze do well this summer, if he shines on the big stage of the European Championships, there’s little chance that he’ll be retained.
With the details of his release clause now revealed to be £60m + £8m, which is very modest at that price, it’s more than likely interest will arrive regardless.
But if he shines, interest will only grow and this is of no benefit to the Eagles considering a bidding war won’t be started.
So, if Southgate wants to leave Eze on the bench resting, away from the attention of scouts, that’d be fine by us.
The post "The kid has got it": Rio Ferdinand wants Gareth Southgate to start "silky" Crystal Palace player at EURO 2024 appeared first on We are Palace.