Richard Keys has now shared his bemusement at how Gareth Southgate treated one Crystal Palace player at UEFA Euro 2024.
Marc Guehi and Ebere Eze were the only Crystal Palace players to feature for England in Germany as Adam Wharton and Dean Henderson failed to come off the bench.
Interestingly, and also quite weirdly, Southgate even opted to use Eze as a left wing-back when he did decide to bring the Crystal Palace No.10 on, although that isn’t what confused Richard Keys…
Richard Keys cannot believe how Adam Wharton was used by England
Writing in his blog about England’s exploits at UEFA Euro 2024, Keys could not hide his confusion at Southgate’s handling of Wharton.
The 67-year-old wrote: “He also made some really bad calls in his squad. Wharton? Why? You could ask the same question about Gallagher. Clearly he didn’t really fancy him.”
We are not just saying this as biased Crystal Palace fans, but some of England’s games at UEFA Euro 2024 were crying out for the 20-year-old’s immense ability to play passes through the lines and keep the ball moving forward.
Keys clearly agrees that Wharton could have been used better as well, although it is not the worst situation for the £22m midfielder, or Crystal Palace.
Crystal Palace No.20 will surely benefit from his experience of UEFA Euro 2024
While Wharton was surely itching to play in Germany, the experience of just being involved will surely be hugely beneficial for the youngster.
The Blackburn-born maestro got to spend a summer training with England’s best footballers every single day, while also seeing what it requires to navigate through a major tournament all the way to the final.
That will surely broaden Wharton’s footballing mentality, and could also be rewarding for Crystal Palace if we make it into the latter stages of a cup competition next season.
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Hopefully, the Crystal Palace No.20 keeps shining at Selhurst Park – despite interest from Real Madrid – and can make himself an undroppable figure for England in time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
