Marc Guehi has won six caps for England so far (Photo: Getty)
Gareth Southgate has hailed the performances of Marc Guehi, hinting that the Crystal Palace star could start for England against Italy.
The Three Lions take on Gli Azzurri at Wembley on Tuesday night, where victory for the home side will secure qualification for next summer’s Euro 2024.
Many of England’s best players were rested for last Friday’s friendly win against Australia, with Southgate expected to stick to the team that he knows best against the reigning European champions.
There is a question mark over the defence however, as while Harry Maguire will likely start, his usual centre-back partner John Stones may not be fit enough.
The Manchester City star has missed much of the season with a hip injury but was able to play the last half hour of the Australia win, though Southgate admits he’s unsure whether he’ll be able to play against Italy.
‘John… we’re working closely with his club in terms of his recovery. He’s been out a long time so we’ve got to keep assessing him,’ the England boss said in hispre-match press conference on Monday.
As for who could step into Stones’ place, Guehi will be the favourite to do so having done it in England’s last qualifier against Ukraine in September.
John Stones has made just three appearances for club and country this season (Photo: Getty)
The 23-year-old was also left on the bench against Socceroos, with Lewis Dunk, Fikayo Tomori and Levi Colwill starting instead, suggesting that Southgate was resting him for the Italy clash.
‘Marc is doing really, really well. He’s played with great maturity in the two games last month,’ Southgate said when asked about the Palace defender.
‘At times he might not catch the eye in the way that some other players do because he’s in the right place, so he’s not having to turn round and cover for something that he’s got wrong.
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‘He’s a very calm player, positionally excellent. Composed with the ball, very good mentality, so we think he’s developing very well.’
Guehi moved to Palace from Chelsea in 2021, getting called up to the England squad for the first time and he has remained a near ever-present in the national team set-up ever since, winning six caps so far.
His impressive performances have seen him linked with some of the Premier League’s top clubs, while this season his efforts have helped the Eagles to ninth in the table after eight games, with only Arsenal and Manchester City conceding less goals in that time.
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‘He’s played with great maturity.’