Chris Sutton Worried About England’s Midfield Options Ahead Of The World Cup

BBC pundit Chris Sutton has slated Gareth Southgate’s midfield options for England ahead of this summer’s World Cup in Russia. The Three Lions have found themselves short of quality talent at the heart of the midfield, and this has seen Southgate pick the likes of Jake Livermore, who has had a below-par season with West Bromwich Albion.

Traditionally, England’s midfield has been their strong point with the likes of Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard oozing class and quality, which brought a sense of fear in the opposition. However, the current crop of players are far from this calibre, and Sutton was not pleased with the selection of Livermore, in particular, he said: "It's absolutely a nightmare for Gareth Southgate. You get the likes of Jake Livermore who can barely get a game for West Brom. Lewis Cook has been called up, I'm not knocking him, good young player that he is, but are these players going to win you the World Cup? The truth is the holding midfield area is a nightmare. We can't name a first choice in there."

Jordan Henderson, Eric Dier, and Jack Wilshere are some of the players, who could be warranted a starting role at the World Cup, but the latter has been largely plying his trade for an Arsenal side that has underperformed through the season. Wilshere has witnessed the worst side of the Gunners for the first time in his career, and this does not keep him in good stead ahead of the summer trip to Russia.

Apart from the trio, Southgate can also deploy the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Adam Lallana in central midfield positions, but the Liverpool duo have tended to be inconsistent with the national side, where they have not been able to exhibit their free-flowing style of football, unlike with Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.