It has been the burning question among England football fans all week – will Gareth Southgate select Trent Alexander-Arnold or leave him out of his final Euro 2020 squad?
Reports on Monday evening claim the Liverpool defender will not be included in the 26-man roster the England boss will announce on Tuesday.
Southgate chose a 33-man provisional squad last week, to allow for both European finals to be played and to fully assess those getting over recent injuries.
It is the right-back position that will be posing most headaches, with four brilliant players at his disposal.
Alongside Alexander-Arnold, there is both full-backs who played in the Champions League final, Kyle Walker and Reece James, alongside LaLiga winner Kieran Trippier.
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Sources have told ESPN that the Liverpool man will be omitted while the other three will make the squad.
There had already been doubts about his selection chances as Southgate decided against picking him for the international break in March.
Now it appears only a last minute injury will make room for him in the squad.
Former England striker Darren Bent admitted he thinks Alexander-Arnold will be the one to lose out when Southgate names his squad.
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He told Monday’s Drive: “I wouldn’t leave him out, but you listen to the way Gareth speaks about him. You look at who he’s in competition with, they’ve ended the season really well.
“We saw, arguably, two of England’s best right-backs on display on Saturday. Kyle Walker is number one, Reece James was brilliant and Kieran Trippier has just won LaLiga.
“Gareth has already spoken about Trent and maybe he could play in midfield, so I think he’s going to be the one to be left out.
“I’m a massive fan of Trent, and I would take him, but I just don’t think Gareth will. It is really tough.”
But Tony Cascarino believes it would be harsh for Southgate to leave him out of his final squad.
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“I think it would be a really harsh thing to do to not select Trent [for the final squad],” Cascarino told The Weekend Sports Breakfast.
“He’s now an experienced pro who has been around for two or three years now at the top level. Would you really select him and then say he’s not going to make the final 26? I don’t see that.
“Obviously you can utilise him different and push him forward. I do think there is a real argument that you’ve got to use Trent in certain matches.
“If you really feel you’re going to dominate play and you’re going to get in a lot of chances to whip things in and get in forward areas, then no-one’s better than Trent in terms of delivering a ball into an area which causes mayhem.”
Trevor Sinclair and Jamie O’Hara were in agreement with Cascarino on Tuesday’s Breakfast show.
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Sinclair said: “I wouldn’t take five right-backs, I’d have to let one of them go, and it would have to be Kieran Trippier, for me.
“I know he’s just won LaLiga with Atletico Madrid and he’s played superbly well, but I just look at the others – Reece James was immense in the Champions League final, Kyle Walker has speed and adaptability, Trent Alexander-Arnold going forward has more than him, so I would leave out Trippier.”
Meanwhile, O’Hara added: “I would take all five right-backs, because I think Trent can play midfield.
“Southgate is already talking about potentially playing Trent in midfield. You’ve got to take Trippier, he’s just won the league in Spain and he’s got tournament experience.”
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