The word on the street today is that Ben Chilwell is going to come into the England team to face Ukraine tonight in the Euro 2024 qualifier.
Three Lions coach Gareth Southgate all but confirmed it in his press conference where he talked about Chilwell’s recovery from injury, and also how the former Leicester man would have to adapt to a back 4:
“He is playing as a wing-back so there is some adaptation for him if we are playing with a four. It is a different role, defensively, in particular,” Southgate explained in quotes picked up by the Evening Standard.
“But he is ready and physically, he is in really good shape. He has had a couple of setbacks but he is a good athlete and I think that would have helped his recovery, definitely.”
We’ve seen Chilwell play in a back 4 plenty, and while it does limit his exceptional attacking qualities somewhat, it’s hardly new to him.
He’s always been solid defensively, and as Southgate says, he’s a great athlete, which is important too.
We’re sure he will be able to hold up just fine in any shape the England coach picks – the tricky part is getting minutes ahead of Luke Shaw, who has really proven himself to be a Southgate favourite over the years.
