Paul Merson has claimed that Tottenham duo Harry Winks and Eric Dier should partner Jordan Henderson is England’s midfield for their Nations League crunch clash against Croatia on Sunday afternoon.
England can either win their group and qualify for the last-four, or get relegated to the second-tier in what is bound to be a tense 90 minutes at Wembley this weekend.
And ex-Arsenal star Merson believes that the best way to get a win is to start Spurs fan favourite Winks because his refusal to do anything spectacular could be a real advantage to the Three Lions to help them retain possession.
“In midfield, I would probably play Harry Winks with Jordan Henderson and Eric Dier as one thing we are not going to do is pass them to death,” Merson told Sky Sports.
“So if Winks is in the team, he will keep the ball – he will not do anything extraordinary – and the longer we keep the ball, the more the game will open up and the more chances we will get.
“And that is what we need to do and Winks will link things up with his neat passing. He will not spray 60-yard balls, but we need to keep the ball. We cannot keep giving the ball away, as that was what happened in the World Cup semi-final.”
OPINION