Former England star Gary Lineker has put club form first when giving Gareth Southgate centre-back advice.
Southgate has persisted with Harry Maguire at the heart of the defence, despite the Manchester United captain losing his starting spot at Old Trafford. While the 29-year-old has been a key figure for the manager in the past, he was at fault for the opening goal against Germany on Monday and has recently been subjected to boos from England supporters.
Maguire gave the ball away needlessly before felling Jamal Musiala in the box, giving the visitors a penalty from which Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring. While England recovered, briefly leading 3-2 before Kai Havertz equalised for Hansi Flick's men, calls for Maguire to be dropped have continued.
The options at the back are limited, even more so after John Stones - who started as one of three centre-backs - went off injured in the first half. However, Lineker argued AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori deserves his chance after impressing in Serie A.
"There’s a guy called Tomori who has excelled at AC Milan," Lineker tweeted when asked about an alternative plan in central defence. Former Chelsea defender Tomori was a regular for the Rossoneri last season, playing 31 times in the league as they won the Scudetto under Stefano Pioli.
The 24-year-old made his England debut in 2019, but has only added two further caps in the three years since. His most recent appearance in an England shirt came in June, when he started in a goalless draw against Italy - the only time the Euro 2020 finalists recorded a clean sheet in six UEFA Nations League games.
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After the game against Germany, Southgate hinted that he did not plan to drop Maguire from his starting XI. The former Leicester man's club teammate Luke Shaw has also been used sparingly by United boss Erik ten Hag, but earned minutes on Monday and scored his first goal for England since the Euro 2020 final.
"I know everyone will focus on Harry but there were some very important moments that Harry delivered during the two matches," Southgate said. "Luke Shaw was another example of somebody [who delivered moments], he’s an outstanding footballer.
"So what do we do? Not pick Luke Shaw because he’s not playing enough football or do we pick a player who can do what we saw tonight?
"That’s always going to raise debate but I think in these moments we’ve got to back our best and our most experienced players unless we’re in a situation where it’s almost untenable and impossible to pick them," Southgate continued.
In the summer of 2021, when England reached the final of the Euros, Maguire was one of four out-and-out centre-backs included in the squad, along with Stones, Tyrone Mings and Conor Coady. Kyle Walker, an option at right-back and centre-back, was also there, while Ben White came in as a late replacement after Trent Alexander-Arnold's injury.
The Man Utd captain isn't the only one whose situation has changed in the last year, with Coady moving clubs and White shifting to right-back at Arsenal to accommodate the in-form William Saliba in the middle. With less than two months until the first World Cup game, though, Southgate has some big calls to make.
