Our tactics writer Aidan Smith, from Tactically Speaking, argues that Crystal Palace’s midfield anchor Adam Wharton is perfect for Gareth Southgate’s plans at Euro 2024.
Gareth Southgate has today named his preliminary Euro 2024 squad. In some positions, England’s talent is spilling over. And yet in central midfield, things are complicated. The options are plenty, but far from ideal.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Gallagher, and Kobbie Mainoo have all been trialled in the last year. All have looked sharp, and all have made the provisional squad today. The only problem is, they’re not what England will need in Germany this summer.
Southgate gets the best out of his most attacking players when he gives them freedom. They’re only free to ‘do their thing’ when there’s sufficient cover behind them. See Euro 2020, when England’s attacking four played like dogs on long leads… leads held firm by Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips.
Rice needs his partner — a metronomic puppeteer who can spray passes, make tackles, and hold their shape. Adam Wharton’s your man.
Live reaction to England’s Euro 2024 squad announcement
Wharton, 20, has enjoyed a starring role in Oliver Glasner’s plucky, modern Crystal Palace side since February. Holding the fort in a double-pivot, sitting in front of a back-three in possession, Wharton would be only too familiar in a similar England set-up, as shown below. And let’s not forget how assured Declan Rice has looked playing higher up this term. A partnership with Wharton would give Rice the licence to take a risk or two.
Capped only at U21 level, handing Wharton a ticket to Germany would be a risk. But Southgate is used to taking risks, as is Wharton himself. And while others may be more exciting to watch, it’s he who offers what England need. Perhaps, at this moment, the greater risk would be to leave him at home.
England’s recent flutter with overly-high pressing and general disregard for midfield structure has been uncharacteristic, and Brazil and Belgium both exposed such naiveties in March. What England needed in those moments was discipline. What we saw was the Charge of the Fright Brigade. Gallagher and Mainoo went rushing in, leaving space and personnel behind them. This is an area Wharton will feel he can help the side, having gained a reputation for holding his position and being robust in a tackle.
The former Blackburn Rovers man has completed more tackles and interceptions than Alexander-Arnold, Gallagher, and Mainoo this year. In possession, he’s managed twice as many key passes as Mainoo and has been dispossessed far less than the Manchester United teenager.
What makes Wharton the most suitable midfield candidate for England is his positioning. Rarely straying into dangerous back alleys or leaving his defenders outnumbered, Wharton has been Palace’s main reference point in the middle of the park since Christmas.
Against Belgium, Mainoo had a tendency to leave England’s defence vulnerable to counter attacks with his forward bursts, and, with every game, Alexander-Arnold still bites at a chance to drift wide in an England shirt. If England are going to break teams down and create chances when games get tight, they need to be confident enough to play direct passes into central midfield.
Winning tournaments takes prudence. Wharton may not be a better footballer than Alexander-Arnold, Gallagher, or Mainoo. He simply fits the bill. Southgate will know that, but he now needs to show it. After all, round pegs in round holes…
Aidan is a football writer whose work on
tactics can be found at TacticallySpeaking
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