Former England international Theo Walcott has now weighed in on the debate of whether England should start Phil Foden or Anthony Gordon later today.
The Three Lions are back in Euros action later today when they face Denmark in the second of their group stage games.
Gareth Southgate’s side got off to a winning start on the weekend against Serbia with a narrow 1-0 victory thanks to Jude Bellingham’s headed goal.
However, it was a performance which perhaps raised more questions than it answered.
With such a strong cohort of attacking options at his disposal, Southgate was unable to provide Newcastle United‘s Anthony Gordon with any minutes in Gelsenkirchen.
But the Premier League Player of the Season failed to live up to expectations on the left wing which has left the debate open as to who should start there today in Frankfurt.
Theo Walcott hails Newcastle’s ‘fearless’ Anthony Gordon
Playing under Eddie Howe saw Gordon provide the Toon with a sensational 2023/24 campaign in the Premier League.
A return of 11 goals and 10 assists in the Premier League marked a strong opening season at St James’ Park for the 23-year-old.
However, he was forced to watch from the bench on Sunday as England scraped past Serbia with Foden struggling to impact the game from the left wing.
Speaking to The Chronicle ahead of today’s game against the Danes, Theo Walcott has admitted he would like to see the Newcastle winger play from the start at the Deutsche Bank Park.
“I like Anthony Gordon. I’ve seen him up close and personal. I like the fact he likes going on the outside as well, not that sort of standard inverted winger,” he said.
“I always feel he likes to challenge and keeps the defenders guessing and I feel like England’s going to need something different. I think that’s why he’s there. He’s there to provide something different for that squad.
“So, if I was gonna change things, I’d probably put him in.”
“So I’d probably like to see Anthony Gordon, if I’m being brutally honest, for me, he’s so exciting, he’s fresh and he’s fearless,” Walcott added.
Should Gordon start ahead of Fodon?
Of course, Foden won the Player of the Season award for a reason with his dazzling displays in Manchester City’s title-winning season.
But when it comes to providing a threat from the left flank, the City superstar really struggled to make his mark on Sunday.
That could well call for a more natural option to replace him against Denmark and Gordon is a player who provided Newcastle with a real threat from that very position all season long.
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Clearly, Gordon would offer Southgate with much more natural wing play compared to Foden which could also help bring the best out of Harry Kane who also struggled on Sunday.
It would not be an easy decision for Southgate to drop a player of Foden’s quality, but Gordon has certainly shown what he could offer over the course of the 2023/24 season.