It is the question that Gareth Southgate admits he has turned over and over in his mind. Who plays alongside Declan Rice in his England midfield at Euro 2024? “In the last few months I’ve been thinking: ‘Declan with who?’” the manager said two weeks ago. “And: ‘Who if without Declan?’”
Let us move on from the second part of that because it is simply unthinkable. There is no other No 6 at Southgate’s disposal, after the falls from grace of Kalvin Phillips and Jordan Henderson. And that, as an aside, overlooks how Rice’s best position may very well be as a No 8.
