England Euro 2021 Squad: Which ‘defenders will Southgate call upon’ for next summer?

It remains a worrying time for all in the current coronavirus pandemic. And the world of sport is no exception.

The English Premier League has been suspended for the foreseeable future. And the crisis has also put a halt on all Ligue 1, Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A fixtures.

The postponement of those games looks set to last for at least another couple of months.

The pandemic has also forced UEFA to push back this summer’s European Championships until 2021.

England had been gearing up to host several games, with Wembley the proposed venue for this summer’s final. But all games will now take place next summer, should conditions allow it.

The Three Lions were set to meet Croatia, Czech Republic and an opponent from the playoffs in their group games. And manager Gareth Southgate was preparing to make a huge decision on which players to take with him to the finals.

The boss seems to have some sort of dilemma in every position, with injuries to Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford giving him a headache up front, and the stunning performances of Sheffield United goalkeeper Dean Henderson giving him a lot of thinking to do in between the sticks.

And another position that will most certainly be up for serious discussion when the time comes is defence.

There are several key men who have seemingly done enough to convince Southgate that they are up for the challenge at the back. The likes of Manchester United’s Harry Maguire, Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez, Leicester’s Ben Chilwell and Manchester City’s John Stones may fit into that category.

But others may have to improve when club football returns in order to be considered for the major tournament.

It’s currently 6/5 for Luke Shaw to do just that. Fikayo Tomori is available at 5/4 to make the cut, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka currently 3/2.

Tyrone Mings and Danny Rose are both 7/4, with Kieran Trippier 2/1. His former Tottenham Hotspur team-mate Kyle Walker is available at 5/2.

It’s 3/1 for youngsters Bukayo Saka, Reece James and Mason Holgate. Chris Smalling and Brandon Williams are available at 4/1.

Japhet Tanganga is currently 5/1, Michael Keane 6/1 and Ben White 8/1. 

It’s 9/1 for Jack O’Connell and 12/1 for Ryan Sessegnon. Lewis Dunk and James Tarkowski are both 16/1. The trio of Adam Webster, Rob Holding and James Justin are 20/1.

Matt Targett, Charlie Taylor, Craig Dawson and Jack Stephens are all 25/1. And it’s 33/1 for Conor Coady, Ashley Young, Aaron Cresswell and Kyle Walker-Peters.