With Euro 2016 just around the corner, Sky Sports pundit Thierry Henry gave his thoughts on whether Wayne Rooney should be picked and whether he should start for England in the summer tournament. The Manchester United forward has just come back from injury and is still feeling his way back into the thick of the action in the Premier League.
The 30-year-old skipper of the Three Lions had injured his knee in February and was sidelined for more than six weeks before he made a comeback. And with strikers such as Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane and Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy battling it out for the Premier League Golden Boot, England boss Roy Hodgson has a big headache on who to pick when the team travels to France.
Speaking on the subject, Henry was of the opinion that Rooney must go with the squad but whether he should start games will be the bigger question.
“I don't even know why there was a question of him going to the Euros or not,” Henry told Sky Sports. “Now the question is if he is going to start.
“Should he start? Play on the left? Play behind the striker?”
Henry impressed with Spurs duo of Kane and Alli
With Spurs’ Kane and Dele Alli forming a lethal partnership (Kane has scored 7 goals from Alli assists – the best partnership in the EPL this season), Henry feels they may get the nod given the understanding they have on the pitch.
“You can't also deny that there is an understanding with Kane and Dele Alli. Is Alli going to play no.10 with Kane and whoever is on the wing? It’s a tough one because you don’t want [Rooney] on the wings anymore, that is for sure.
Although Rooney was a key figure in the qualifiers and even broke the England record for most goals, he felt there was no denying the Spurs players their due.
“Rooney has 51 goals for the national team,” Henry continued. “He is their leader, they respect him, so he needs to be in and around the squad.
“Now there is a Tottenham influence in the team so do you want to go with that or change it? [Hodgson] knows what’s working and what worked during qualifying, and Rooney was very good in that.”
“That's the type of headache you want to have,” he concluded.
