Mainoo, Wharton, Alexander-Arnold? Solving England’s midfield muddle is a step into the unknown

There have been 77 England matches since Trent Alexander-Arnold debuted in 2018. If he had played in them all, he would be level on caps already with Terry Butcher, wedged between John Terry and Tom Finney. Instead, he has 24 international appearances to his name, the same as Bert Williams and Paul Madeley. He has fewer caps in the Gareth Southgate era than Jesse Lingard, barely half as many as Kieran Trippier.

A player who has been labelled the best right-back in the world has sometimes only seemed Southgate’s fourth choice. And yet, the England manager has long insisted he is an admirer of Alexander-Arnold’s talent. An attempt to reinvent him as a midfielder – first criticised by Jurgen Klopp, then adopted – may have been a consequence of his preference for Kyle Walker and Trippier’s defensive qualities but is a bid to unleash a creator.

It is, though, something of a voyage into uncharted territory for Southgate and Alexander-Arnold alike. The Merseysider missed the March friendlies against Brazil and Belgium with injury – Southgate’s selectorial choices are not the only reason why he has so few caps – and when he scored against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday, it was with a volley that displayed his technical expertise. But only after beginning in midfield and later reverting to right-back.

Southgate savoured the goal while accepting that Alexander-Arnold has been underused. “Firstly, he is enjoying playing in an England shirt,” he said. “He has had a difficult international career in that because of the strength in depth in the area. We haven’t always been able to give him the amount of football that his talent deserves but we have always been trying to find a way to do that and I think he knows that and he appreciates that. So it is lovely to see him score, have that moment and play with that confidence for England.”

Alexander-Arnold can play passes others cannot imagine, let alone execute. He can add a dimension. “We were very pleased, it is a role he is discovering and he is hungry to learn,” Southgate said. But he is learning on the job. Even the rookies Kobbie Mainoo and Adam Wharton have more positional experience; they are midfielders by trade. The relatively battle-hardened Conor Gallagher has come to seem the safe option. For Alexander-Arnold, the unproven element is whether he can operate as a midfielder in a defining tournament game, whether he has the positional acumen to shield the defence when out of possession. This, above all, was where Southgate trusted Kalvin Phillips and Jordan Henderson. Alexander-Arnold feels like the wildcard in that respect.

“That is the unknown. Obviously, with Gallagher, with Mainoo, even with Wharton you know exactly what they can and what they can’t do,” said Southgate. “None of these players can do everything so you are trying to work out what is the right balance. Obviously, Declan [Rice] is going to be in there so what is the balance with him? That could be different for different games.”

It could be Jude Bellingham, but Southgate counselled against expecting to see Real Madrid’s 23-goal finisher too deep. “Jude’s obviously playing the season very high up the pitch for Madrid,” he said. “Defensively, [it was] a bit of a mix. He’s defended as a 10 or as a left-winger at times. That’s depended on the rotations in their team. What he hasn’t done is played as a 6. Or as a lower 8. It’s a while since he’s done that and we’ve got to bear that in mind.”

It is partly a question of chemistry. “All the bits have to fit together,” said Southgate. And traditionally, England have lacked the player who knits a team together; if Alexander-Arnold can supply the magic ball, the youngsters Mainoo and Wharton are the natural passers; always available, always looking for the next ball. The Crystal Palace player’s England debut was auspicious. “He is just pretty unflappable,” said Southgate. “That ability to receive and see a picture early isn’t something you should underestimate.”

Unprompted, he started mentioning two of the modern-day greats, six-time Champions League winners. “You immediately start to think of [Toni] Kroos and [Luka] Modric and those types,” he said. “They've had a decade or more of how to control the rhythm of a game. That’s a step beyond where we’re at with Wharton and Mainoo. They’re really tender in their development. They’re doing really well and we’re excited about working with them but we’ve got to be realistic about what that’s going to look like in terms of controlling the tempo at the highest possible level, which is also a step that none of them have seen yet.”

For Wharton, Mainoo and Alexander-Arnold, in different ways and at different stages of their career, Euro 2024 will be a step into the unknown. They are England’s three new midfielders: two youngsters and a recycled, rebranded right-back.