Darren Bent has made the case for one Liverpool player to be selected in his country’s starting XI at the European Championship this summer.
Following an excellent season so far at Anfield, Joe Gomez was recalled to the England squad for the first time since autumn 2020 for the friendly double header against Brazil and Belgium.
The £85,000-per-week defender came off the bench midway through the second half in the 1-0 defeat to the former on Saturday, and he may be in contention to start against the latter at Wembley tonight.
Bent was discussing the Three Lions’ potential defensive options for Euro 2024 on The Football Fill-In with Ben Foster and Danny Thomas, and he thinks the 26-year-old should be not just on the plane to Germany but also in Gareth Southgate’s first-choice XI.
The ex-Tottenham striker said of Gomez: “He could be a centre-back you know, him and [John] Stones. He’s got the pace, he’s strong, he’s versatile. He could be one, Joe Gomez.”
Based on form, Gomez should be a shoo-in for the England squad for Euro 2024 and very much in contention to start, having won twice as many tackles this season as Stones and Harry Maguire combined (FBref).
However, Southgate is notorious for sticking rigidly to players who’ve served him well in the past, so the Liverpool defender will need to continue excelling so that his international boss has no option but to pick him in Germany this summer.
You can view Bent’s comments below (from 16:38), via Ben Foster – The Cycling GK on YouTube: