Jack Grealish or Jude Bellingham? Declan Rice or even Trent Alexander-Arnold? How should Gareth Southgate shape England’s midfield in future?

With Jude Bellingham being called up to the England senior set-up for the first time this week, now seems like an apt time to discuss the future of the England midfield.

Under Gareth Southgate, England recently have played a 3-4-2-1 with two wing-backs serving as the primary wingers in the side. Southgate tends to prefer playing more defensively-minded central midfielders in the four with the wing backs. However, he has been criticised for this approach as it stifles a lot of the creative talent we have in the team. 

One player who can feel particularly hard done by is Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish who has performed superbly for his club. The 25-year-old’s displays at Villa Park saw him earn international recognition under Southgate, although he has struggled for action under the Three Lions boss.

Many fans feel that if this England side are to truly progress then there needs to be a change in the starting XI. In attack alone there are undoubtedly lots of talented stars around currently such as Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Danny Ings – who is currently injured, Tammy Abraham and Dominic Calvert-Lewin; to name a few. 

It is obviously impractical to name all the above in the starting XI of a team but naming another creative midfielder there would help give England an attacking advantage in the middle of the pitch. Here, Tibs News’ Dylan Chavasse outlines some of the names Southgate should look to model future midfields around as he looks to strike the perfect balance between defence and attack.

Declan Rice

Club: West Ham                   Age: 21                     England Apps: 11

Rice may be regarded as a slightly ‘bland’ choice and is one of Southgate’s selections that is sometimes criticised. But, in my opinion, Rice is future England captain material, performs a role that goes largely unnoticed during games and has the potential to be a force going forward in the future. 

The 21-year-old can play as a lone defensive midfielder or in a two, as he does with West Ham. His primary functions are breaking up the opposition play, and then distributing the ball forwards to kickstart attacks. 

Additionally, he is blessed with a brilliant football brain and extreme composure in the tackle. In February, when compared against other defensive midfielders in the Premier League, he was ranked second in the league for most successful recoveries (230), tackles (80) and interceptions (55), while being joint-first for dribbles (33). Against Wolves in September, Rice completed 100 per cent of his take-ons, and won all of his aerial duels, while entering the final third five times throughout the game.

This season, he has taken on the captaincy of the Hammers, as Mark Noble continues his comeback from injury, and it is clear to see that the midfielder leads by example both on and off the pitch, despite his tender age.

In a recent interview with West Ham’s website, Rice said he aspired to become more like Scott Parker or even Yaya Toure, and one thing he is working on is carrying the ball forward, and making surging runs from deep.

If he can successfully integrate this into his game, we could be looking at a well-rounded, all-action midfielder who provides a strong base for England to build upon in the centre of the park going forward.

Jude Bellingham

Club: Borussia Dortmund     Age: 17     England Apps: 0

Bellingham, 17, burst onto the scene with Birmingham City in August 2019 – then aged just 16 – under Spaniard Pep Clotet.

He made his Football League debut as a second-half substitute away to Swansea City, a game which ended in a 3-0 defeat. But it was his first home appearance where he really announced himself. Against Stoke City, Bellingham came off the bench and completed a dramatic turnaround for his club, scoring in the 76th-minute to make it 2-1, having gone 1-0 down originally.  

Since then, his career has taken off. He scored in his next game against Charlton Athletic – in what also saw him start a professional match for the first time in his career. Bellingham made 41 league appearances (32 starts, nine as substitute) and scored four goals in a debut season so impressive that he attracted the attention of Borussia Dortmund. The German giants are famous for their development of youth and they moved quickly to snap him up for an initial fee of £25million. 

Bellingham can play in a variety of midfield positions, something that Southgate will look upon favourably in the England setup. The teenager offers versatility, meaning England can comfortably change systems with him on the pitch. He can play as a defensive midfielder, a traditional number eight and his goalscoring ability suggests that he could fit in as a central attacking midfielder too. He is comfortable playing under pressure and performs well in the tightest of spaces, using his quick feet to the best of their ability.

Personally, I feel he can offer something different to England and the midfield going forward. He is confident on the ball and his adept attacking ability compliments the defensive talent of Rice. Furthemore both midfielders are comfortable either attacking or defending, which again offers another level of versatility, hence that element of unpredictability is added to the England team.

One factor which may hinder his involvement for now is his age. Though obviously skilled, he does lack experience compared to the rest of the squad at this moment in time. However, this is something that will change in due course as at Dortmund he is playing consistently against a high-level opposition in one of Europe’s toughest leagues. On the other hand, the fact he has been picked ahead of players such as James Maddison and Ross Barkley in the latest squad shows Southgate clearly rates him and sees him as having a part to play in his future plans.

Jack Grealish

Club: Aston Villa   Age: 25   England Appearances: 2

Grealish is a name that many England fans would love to see on the Three Lions team sheet more often. The Villa captain performs consistently at a high level for his club, yet, to the annoyance of many, hasn’t been given an adequate chance to impress for England. 

Since Villa were promoted to the Premier League in May 2019, Grealish’s performances seem to have constantly been on an upward curve. Even last season, when Villa were languishing at the wrong end of the table, Grealish was their standout performer. 

In the Premier League this season only Tottenham talisman Harry Kane (eight) has created more big chances than Grealish (six). 

This shows that Grealish has an eye for a killer pass, and similarly to Bellingham, he works with excellent efficiency in the midfield areas possessing quick feet as well as a mean shot – evidenced by four goals in six games this season. He has already reached half of his tally from last season this campaign.

Additionally, Grealish has taken 70 touches in the opposition’s penalty area this season, second only to Mohamed Salah. 

This season he’s averaging 3.1 shots per game too (compared to 2.03 last season), 30.6 passes in the opposition half this season (compared to 26.6 in the season just gone) and is taking nearly twice the amount of shots from inside the box.

I think Grealish would be a great addition to England’s midfield going forward, and the fact he can also play on the left of midfield offers another dimension to Southgate tactically. His creative output statistics suggest that he has no productivity problems wherever he is required to play. 

Currently, Southgate seems to prefer to use Mason Mount as his No 10. Mount is an agile midfielder who plays an intelligent pressing game for Chelsea and England. But if Grealish continues to keep these sorts of numbers up surely Southgate can’t neglect him for much longer.

It would certainly please a large portion of the fanbase if he started to feature regularly.

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Club: Liverpool     Age: 22      England Appearances: 12

A potentially controversial shout, a curveball option if you will, but Trent Alexander-Arnold – who had to withdraw from this month’s England fixtures due to injury – is widely regarded as one of the best attacking full-backs in the game today. 

The 22-year-old is excellent at occupying positions higher up the pitch, possesses a wand of a right foot and is one of the Premier League’s most creative players – assisting goals from set-pieces and early crosses. He has been one of Liverpool’s set-piece takers since the 2017-18 season and this has contributed to him creating 35 big chances in the league alongside 27 assists since his debut. He also has six goals to his name.

Under Jurgen Klopp, whose tactics handed creative responsibility to the full backs, Alexander-Arnold is predominantly deployed down the right-hand side where his overlapping runs, switching of play, accuracy of crossing and work-rate in tracking have seen him become a vital cog in the Reds’ machine.

At a time where there are a number of talented right-backs for Southgate to pick from, could we see Alexander-Arnold take up a spot in midfield in the future? Don’t be surprised if that was the case in future.

These are just some of the options available to Southgate, and only one thing is for sure – it’ll be interesting to see who is winning those midfield battles in years to come.

By Dylan Chavasse