Gary Neville says Maguire would be a bigger loss to England than Kane

An injury to Manchester United star Harry Maguire would be a bigger blow to England than losing captain Harry Maguire – according to Gary Neville.

Last night on Monday Night Football, courtesy of Sky Sports, the former Manchester United and England right-back said: “If you lose Harry Maguire that’s a big problem for Gareth Southgate. I think it’s his biggest problem.

“If you’re then left with John Stones as your other centre-back and you think you’ve got Stones and (Tyrone) Mings, Stones and (Conor) Coady, Stones and (Eric) Dier – I’m not having it.”

It’s a bold claim but I can see the thinking behind it.

Asked by Carragher if a Maguire injury would be more devastating than one for Kane, who has 34 international goals to his name, Neville carried on with claims over which Harry is more valuable to England manager Southgate.

“Harry Kane’s the best player in the squad but in this particular squad if Gareth wants a back four in the squad and go for a 4-3-3 formation, the only chance of that is keeping Harry Maguire fit.

“You always have to think if one player gets injured where do I then go to. If Harry Kane gets injured you could go with Marcus Rashford, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Raheem Sterling as a false forward or Phil Foden.

“There are options England can still win games. But with Maguire the ability to go to a back four is lost and that’s why he’s got a three in the back of his mind.”

Last week England played their final three competitive matches before they take on Croatia (June 13th) at Wembley in their opening Euro 2020 game, so on Monday night Neville and Carragher picked their squads.

Neither Neville nor Carragher picked Jadon Sancho in their squads.

The Borussia Dortmund forward missed the recent World Cup qualifiers due to injury and is unfortunately set to miss the Champions League tie against Man City.

Read more: Bookies see Manchester United as favourites to win Europa League

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