Gareth Southgate should have chosen Patrick Bamford in his Euro 2020 squad as ‘he’s the closest thing to Harry Kane that England have got’.
That is the view of Adrian Durham, who believes the Three Lions boss would have been better off picking a back-up striker with similarities to Tottenham’s talisman in order to make his style of play a success.
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Southgate named a 33-man provisional squad on Tuesday and Bamford, who has been a standout performer for Leeds on their return to the Premier League, is one of the most high-profile absentees.
Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins are two players who got the nod over the striker, who scored 17 goals and contributed seven assists for the Whites in their impressive campaign.
Durham, however, is adamant Southgate should be looking to hammer down his style of play from the bench rather than opting for strikers with different qualities to Kane during in-game situations.
“With Bamford not being in there, it’s not just about the number of goals and assists – which are all positives of course,” he told Drive.
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“It’s that I think he’s the closest to Harry Kane that we’ve got.
“Some people may think that’s a reason for him not to be in, but one of Bielsa’s logics in football is that he says: ‘There’s no Plan B as we must keep working to make Plan A work.’
“England should have a Plan A which they should make work and stick to it. They keep getting better and better and better.
“He’s not similar to Ollie Watkins. Watkins and Calvert-Lewin can run the channels. They’re different strikers so really Bamford was in competition with Greenwood and Kane.”
“If it’s 0-0 and there’s 15 minutes left, do you chuck a big lump on and boot it up to them? It’s what we’ve done over the years and it hasn’t worked!”
“Why aren’t we picking a player who’s most like Harry Kane, in Patrick Bamford?”
Villa legend Gabby Agbonlahor disagreed with Durham and backed Southgate’s call to select strikers with different qualities to the Leeds front man.
He argued: “Bamford is very unlucky not to make it but the problem with Bamford is the sort of striker he is. Greenwood is better. Kane is better.
“He’s the same sort of striker as them. He’s not a striker that’s similar to Calvert-Lewin.
“He’s not similar to Ollie Watkins. Watkins and Calvert-Lewin can run the channels.
“They’re different strikers so really Bamford was in competition with Greenwood and Kane.”
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