Former Premier League winner Ray Parlour has said that Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is the only ‘certainty’ in England’s midfield for him.
There has been much debate in recent days about who should line up in Gareth Southgate’s midfield three at next summer’s European Championships, and Parlour feels the 29-year-old is a shoe-in.
“Henderson would be a certainty to play,” he told talkSPORT. “I think Gareth trusts him, he’s a very important player for Liverpool, and he’s going to be a very important player going forward at these Euros.
“I think Henderson is definitely going to be in the side, and then it’s who are you gonna play alongside Henderson? At the moment [Alex] Oxlade-Chamberlain is really playing well. He’s back, and he can always get you a goal. I think if he can carry on the way he’s playing he’ll be in the side.”
? #LFC’s Henderson a ‘certainty’
? Winks & The Ox earn spots
? No place for #AVFC’s Grealish@RealRomfordPele tells us who he’d start in England’s midfield at Euro 2020!Would you be happy with a midfield of Henderson, Winks and The Ox? ? pic.twitter.com/QQf1BWNWQt
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) November 19, 2019
OPINION
Everybody has their opinion on who should be in the England midfield three next summer, but it’s interesting that the past two days have seen both Parlour and Danny Murphy come out and say that Henderson is the only definite in their trios. That’s telling, because these are two men who know an awful lot about operating in the middle of the park at a very high level. The fact that they both rate Henderson so highly, despite what the masses think about him, tells you everything you need to know about how good the Reds skipper actually is. The 29-year-old’s magnificent leadership, work rate and underrated technical ability is something that Southgate clearly values. Henderson is his vice-captain behind Harry Kane so he will almost certainly be in the squad for the Euros, and it seems clear that he should be starting as well. Meanwhile, Oxlade-Chamberlain is roaring into form and looks set to take one of the spots alongside his club captain as long as he continues to play regularly for Liverpool.
