Left-back ‘who never gets a mention’ could be answer to England’s struggles
England's left-back struggles could be answered by someone who "never gets a mention," according to former Arsenal hero Perry Groves.
The flying ex-Gunners winger, 57, has earmarked Brentford's Rico Henry as the solution to Gareth Southgate's selection headache with first-choice left-backs Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell still yet to find form in the Premier League this season.
Starting the opening match of the campaign at home to Brighton, Shaw was given the boot from the matchday XI by Erik ten Hag following the first-half massacre against Brentford. Summer signing Tyrell Malacia has been drafted into the line-up for the Red Devils' resurgence with United claiming maximum points from their last four fixtures.
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It's been a similar story for Ben Chilwell in west London. Recovering from a gruesome ruptured cruciate ligament that saw him miss 36 matches last season, the 25-year-old is yet to complete 90 minutes in all competitions this term.
Moreover, Chilwell is likely to find his route back into the first-team blocked by the £63m arrival of Marc Cucurella, who just so happened to feature heavily for new boss Graham Potter at Brighton.
Both Chilwell and Shaw were called up by Gareth Southgate for England's final Nations League fixtures against Italy and Germany, which will be the Three Lions' final two before the World Cup in Qatar. And while Groves believes Southgate has made a glaring omission in his latest squad announcement.
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"We're struggling with left-back positions at the moment with Chilwell getting left out last night and Shaw's been injured," he told talkSPORT. "Rico Henry has never ever been mentioned as getting anywhere near the England squad.
"And he is excellent defensively one v ones, he's very good technically, he's good going forward. I don't think he'll be in this squad but he never gets a mention.
"Maybe they don't see Brentford as being fashionable enough. Because he was brilliant in the Championship, Brentford fans said he was excellent last season and he's carried on that form this season as well. He's only 25 and I think he's played for England under 20s but he doesn't seem to ever get a mention."
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