Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer

Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham - who is Lee Carsley's number 10?

By Joe Townsend

12:26 · TUE October 08, 2024

“I think with the period of the season we are in, I can probably justify why we wouldn’t start all three of them at the same time in terms of the amount of games that they’re playing, what they are going back to and what they have come from in terms of just coming back from injury or not having had that many minutes.

"What’s important is we get them all on the pitch at some point and try to find the balance.”

For many (or most) an international break may be an unwelcome disruption to the footballing calendar. For Lee Carsley it's the latest opportunity to rubber stamp what now feels like his inevitable ascension to the role of full-time England manager.

While the Republic of Ireland and Finland were not particularly challenging in September, as Carsley began with a pair of 2-0 Nations League wins, there were signs of how he's likely to try and evolve England's playing style should he be confirmed as Gareth Southgate's permanent successor.

The weakness of the opposition was not the only caveat.

His ability to find the aforementioned balance when faced with multiple options, an age-old issue for England managers, wasn't tested.

Praised for getting the best from Trent Alexander-Arnold; with scant mention of Kyle Walker's absence and Kieran Tripper's international retirement. Praised for utilising the pace of Anthony Gordon and embracing the previously jettisoned Jack Grealish; all of Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer were missing. Praised for boldly trusting the genius of Angel Gomes... against Finland.

Alexander-Arnold seems likely to be Carsley's first-choice right-back, the withdrawal of Kobbie Mainoo means Gomes and Declan Rice should once again start in central midfield, and Harry Kane has been passed fit, ending the possibility of an experiment up-front against Greece or Finland.

In between, it's far less clear.

Super Saka certain starter

Not on the right wing though. Bukayo Saka has been peerless for England in the attacking midfield positions since breaking into the team at Euro 2020, scoring 12 goals and providing seven assists in 42 appearances.

He also offers a unique, often touchline-hugging, dribbling ability; against Ireland last month he completed six dribbles, his most in a single game for the Three Lions and half of England's total in that match.

Certain starter.

Best fit for Bellingham?

Bellingham's inclusion in the XI is rarely a topic of conversation. His role within it often is.

During his short but enormously successful career, the 21-year-old has already played in a variety of positions.

At Borussia Dortmund he was much more of a traditional, all-round central midfielder, gradually developing into a goalscoring threat.

After a 23-goal season playing as a centre-forward for Real Madrid, he was used as a number 10 by England at Euro 2024. In the final against Spain, it was something of a surprise when he played from the left.

For his club this season, Bellingham has spent most of his time on the left of a midfield diamond, in no small part due to the arrival of Kylian Mbappe, but the positions he is occupying are incredibly similar to those he took up for his country during the summer.

It's a pretty clear indication that this is where Bellingham is likely to drift to, and where Carsley should factor him in when building his team.

There were many cries for Bellingham to be dropped deeper alongside Rice during the Euros, with it occasionally used as an emergency measure when England desperately chased games in the latter stages.

It feels highly unlikely to be a long-term solution with Carsley in charge.

Looking at how he built his successful England Under-21s team, how he's quickly integrated a natural ball-playing holding midfielder in Gomes and how he has already released Rice to play a more marauding Arsenal-type role, which led to his goal against Ireland, the blueprint is there.

However, it ought not be ruled out entirely.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is set for a pivotal role under Lee Carsley

Alexander-Arnold's inclusion in the team offers possibilities that simply were not there previously, with the Liverpool defender spending the vast majority of England's last two matches in central midfield, with Carsley going a step further and inverting both full-backs against Finland by starting right-footed Manchester City defensive midfielder Rico Lewis at left-back.

So en vogue.

It is eminently possible, then, that the box-to-box responsibilities taken on by Rice in the previous international break shift to Bellingham, with the Arsenal man handed the number 6 role, now able to share duties in a very different way to the one-man burden he carried during the latter part of the Southgate era.

And we must also consider the possibility that, perhaps, Gomes isn't the messiah after all.

One or the other

Placing these heat maps side by side might just be the clearest indication you could get for why Pep Guardiola was willing to sell Cole Palmer.

At the time, the City boss said he let him go because Palmer wanted to start regularly and he couldn't grant that wish. Of course, there is no way Guardiola could've foreseen his former midfielder scoring 28 and assisting 16 goals in his first 41 league games for Chelsea and winning PFA Young Player of the Season.

In a way though, he was vindicated.

Phil Foden enjoyed a breakout season of his own (27 goals and 12 assists in all competitions) to be named PFA Player of the Year, the first Englishman to win the award since Wayne Rooney in 2009/10.

While offering different attributes, Palmer and Foden's tendency to occupy the exact same area of the pitch does not make it easy for any manager to fit them into the same team.

Best players or best team?

Anthony Gordon won Player of the Tournament as Lee Carsley led England to European Under-21 Championship glory in 2023

Whichever way you cut it up, whether it be a Gomes-type player centrally providing control to the midfield, an Anthony Gordon-type player from the left providing pace and support to Harry Kane, or something else so smart and cool that I don't know about it, it's hard to envisage a solution that involves playing both Palmer and Foden.

"You try and find a way of getting (Bellingham, Foden and Palmer) into the team,” said Carsley.

“We’ve got to be creative if they are all playing well and they all earn that place in the team.

"It’s a nice problem to have. The challenge is getting the balance. It might mean now and then one of them misses out or in terms of a tournament, it’s very rare that you start the same team in every single game.”

Take your pick, Lee.

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