England are set to face North Macedonia tonight, and Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi may be forced to play in an unfamiliar role.
With Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell injured, Gareth Southgate elected not to include a single natural left-back in the England squad for this round of international fixtures, with Kieran Trippier playing out of position against Malta on Friday.
However, Trippier has had to leave the squad, leaving Southgate with few options in the position. He has now spoken about potentially moving Guehi over to the left.
Gareth Southgate claims Marc Guehi can play at left-back
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Southgate claimed that Guehi was an option to move over to full-back in the absence of a defender naturally suited to the role.
“Marc Guehi can play across there, he’s done that for us in a game before,” Southgate stated of the centre-back.
“We’re comfortable with the situation,” he added.
Guehi was impressive in the middle for England against Malta, continuing on from his fine form at Crystal Palace, but he may now be shunted out of position as a result of Southgate’s bizarre decision to not call up a left-back.
Should Tyrick Mitchell be in the England squad?
Mitchell has started every single Premier League game for Crystal Palace this season, and alongside Guehi has been a crucial part of the defence which is joint-top for the most clean sheets this season.
The 24-year-old has two England caps to his name, and given England’s injury list, there was no reason why he could not have been included in this squad.
The likes of Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips have hardly featured for their clubs but are still included in the squad, whilst Mitchell has been overlooked despite the lack of other options in his position.
Should Guehi feature at left-back, Mitchell will likely be baffled watching his teammate, who joined the club for £16m in 2021, play in what is usually his position, when the two could have easily played together for England.
Whilst Guehi has arguably been Palace’s best player this season, it is a shame that Mitchell is being overlooked. Whilst it is a separate argument as to whether he has a chance of making the squad for the Euro’s this summer, he deserved a chance against Malta and North Macedonia, with England’s qualification already secured and multiple options unavailable.
Mitchell must wonder what more he has to do to get into the squad alongside Guehi given the current injuries, and it does feel likely that only one of the Palace defenders stands a chance at going to Germany this summer.
