Gareth Southgate will try and bring home a trophy at Euro 2024, after losing to Italy in the final last time out. Our three key England players to watch out for are potentially underlooked gems in Conor Gallagher, John Stones, and Cole Palmer.
England’s Three Key Underlooked Players – Conor Gallagher, John Stones, and Cole Palmer
1. Conor Gallagher – The Key Player to Enabling England to Succeed
Southgate has one of the best holding midfielders in the world at his disposal in Declan Rice. He also has one of the most in-form players in the world as a number ten: Jude Bellingham. However, he does lack a clear choice to complete the midfield trio.
Kobbie Mainoo had his critics after starting against Iceland. Trent Alexander-Arnold put in a good performance out of position against Bosnia and Herzegovina, though could play right-back in Germany. Other candidates to partner Riceinclude Adam Wharton.
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However, Gallagher seems to be the ideal choice. He’s coming off the back of his best-ever season, starting all 37 matches that he was available for in the league. Alongside Palmer, he was a standout in a middling Chelsea side.
Gallagher is the perfect box-to-box player to provide a balance of defensive structure that was absent against Iceland, as well as offering an attacking threat. With four full Premier League seasons under his belt, the 24-year-old possesses experience that Mainoo and Wharton lack. A “pressing machine”, he will be impactful in all areas of the pitch.
2. John Stones
Stones will be more important than ever this tournament, with his centre-back partner Harry Maguire out injured. England’s attack holds an abundance of quality, but with injuries at left-back and centre-back, it may be the defence that holds them back. The Manchester City star will be crucial to the team’s success this summer.
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It will not just be in defence that Stones’ importance lies. Just as he does under Pep Guardiola, the 30-year-old will provide ball progression for England in the form of both carries and passes.
He sits in the top 5% for progressive carries amongst peers. Against Iceland, he completed an impressive nine passes into the final third in just 45 minutes. This is more than Marc Guehi and Lewis Dunk combined when they started against Bosnia.
Stones can often be seen drifting into midfield and this could be pivotal to England’s build-up play when they begin to face the top nations in the knockout rounds.
3. Cole Palmer
Palmer is not the first name to come to mind when discussing “underlooked” players. However, many will be sceptical of his minutes. We predict Southgate will shock the world and drop Bukayo Saka for the red-hot youngster.
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Playing on the right, Chelsea’s star boy could provide that ruthless directness that results in goals at tournaments.
Palmer’s 16 open-play goals and 15 assists are no fluke. In a tournament won by individual goals, he could make the difference to bring it home this summer.
