Alan Shearer believes Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire will ‘be a miss’ for England at the European Championships.
The Three Lions are preparing for their opening match of the tournament against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday, heading to Germany as one of the heavy favourites.
However, for all the attacking firepower at his disposal, Gareth Southgate faces worrying question marks regarding his defensive line-up.
That hasn’t been helped by the absence of Maguire, who was named in the preliminary squad but missed out on the final cut due to a calf injury.
Despite struggling at times for Man Utd, Maguire has proven himself a real leader and steady defensive presence for England, representing his country at three previous major tournaments.
Shearer raises concerns over England defence
According to former England and Newcastle United striker Shearer, England could suffer in both boxes without Maguire, who has previously scored at the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020, while he won more aerial duels (69) than any other Man Utd player in the Premier League last season.
“My concern is defensively, even if Harry Maguire was in the squad then I would still have one or two concerns. I think he will be a miss in both boxes for and against set pieces,” Shearer told Betfair (via the Mirror).
Shearer also expressed unease at left-back, with Maguire’s Man Utd teammate, Luke Shaw, heading to Germany injured. There are also questions to be answered in finding the best partner for Declan Rice in midfield.
“Luke Shaw isn’t going to be available for the first game or two as well. Defensively there’s a worry but going forward and in midfield they are as good as anywhere,” Shearer continued.
“The one question is, who does he actually play alongside Rice? Does he be brave and put Trent in there?
”If you use Iceland as an example and you go in on the front foot, which I hope he does, I hope he goes ‘we’ve got a great chance of winning this tournament we’re going to go for it, they’re not scared of anyone’, but I also understand that you do need to give that back four a little bit of protection.”