England face Denmark in the semi-final of the European Championship and according to football expert Alan Smith, Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka is likely to come back into the side.
Arsenal might have had a really poor 2020-21 season but Bukayo Saka was one of the rare shining stars in that squad. And the youngster has been rewarded for all the hard work by Gareth Southgate.
It was Phil Foden who started this tournament as one of three attackers for England but very quickly, the Manchester City man was replaced by Bukayo Saka. Saka though missed the previous match due to a slight injury but Alan Smith believes Gareth Southgate could call him back.
He told Sky Sports: “Maybe Bukayo Saka comes back in to face Denmark.
“It’s probably the only tricky call Southgate has to make and it will be interesting to see which way he goes.
“It’s not always easy reading Southgate’s mind. Not many thought Jadon Sancho would play against Ukraine so we’ll have to wait and see.
“Southgate obviously loves Saka and what he brings to the team. Phil Foden has also done nothing wrong; Sancho took his chance the other night and Jack Grealish is another consideration.
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“He has plenty of brilliant options, but I think he may just bring Saka back. His direct style of play, his work rate, his pace and creativity just may be a difference point against Denmark’s back three.”
Will Bukayo Saka start on the right wing vs Denmark?
The manager has a plethora of options when it comes to choosing his right winger and if it came down to only statistics then Jadon Sancho would be starting day-in-day-out.
But that has not been the case since Sancho has so far gotten only one start in the Euros, that too because Bukayo Saka was recovering from a knock.
Gareth Southgate also has Marcus Rashford but the Man United form has been out of form for the past few months so we doubt if he will see any game time on Wednesday. As far as Jack Grealish is concerned, the playmaker will only come off the bench sometime in the second half or if the match goes into extra time.
So, in the end, it will be a selection choice between Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka.
Foden was in great form for Man City but he’s failed to replicate that in the European Championship so if Saka is fully fit then we think the England boss will choose the Arsenal youngster over Foden at Wembley.
Stats courtesy Squawka.
