sport news DANNY MURPHY: Gareth Southgate should not be panicking ahead of the World Cup trends now

sport news DANNY MURPHY: Gareth Southgate should not be panicking ahead of the World Cup trends now
sport news DANNY MURPHY: Gareth Southgate should not be panicking ahead of the World Cup trends now

sport news DANNY MURPHY: Gareth Southgate should not be panicking ahead of the World Cup trends now

We are two weekends into the season and already people are worried about England’s stars with fewer than 100 days until the World Cup.

John Stones is yet to play a single minute of Premier League football. Kalvin Phillips and Conor Gallagher have hardly had a kick. Phillips has picked up a knock so didn’t play yesterday. Ben White is playing out of position. Harry Maguire’s place in the Manchester United defence is under threat.

If I am Gareth Southgate none of this would be making me panic just yet. I’d still be feeling confident in my players and embracing the challenge. I’d be excited about watching how Raheem Sterling fares at Chelsea now he’s playing every week. I’m looking forward to seeing Harry Kane lead the line in a Tottenham side that could have its best season in years under one of the best managers out there in Antonio Conte.

Gareth Southgate need not worry about his World Cup squad for the time being

Gareth Southgate need not worry about his World Cup squad for the time being

For me, there are only three players in the squad who are irreplaceable. Two are Kane and Sterling. The other is Declan Rice. Rice has got the lot. His athleticism and sense of danger. He covers, he fills gaps, he intercepts. He’s now got much more to offer in attack than he did two years ago.

He’s added a great ability to stride forward with the ball and run past players. He would probably like to add more goals to his game but that will come when he plays for a team that dominates the ball more than West Ham. He has the potential to become a complete No 8. For England, you will only realise how good he is when he’s not there.

Of all the others, I don’t think there is a player you could take out and their potential replacement would make the team substantially weaker.

If we get closer to the World Cup and there are still some big names who have hardly played, then Gareth will have to make some big decisions. In the past we have picked players on reputation and favouritism to our detriment. He will want players who feature regularly.

West Ham midfielder Declan Rice is one of three irreplaceable England players

West Ham midfielder Declan Rice is one of three irreplaceable England players 

Our strength in depth means I’m not worried. We have immense competition for places.

We might not have two Kyle Walkers but we have the best attacking right-back in the world in Trent Alexander-Arnold. And we have Reece

read more from dailymail.....

PREV Cleary's 'failure' call over black and white rules mogaznewsen
NEXT Josh Harris reacts to Commanders voted last in NFLPA report card: 'I'm not an F-minus guy'