Prolific captain has added assists to his game and could thrive in a deeper role in Gareth Southgate’s 3-4-3 formation
It was the second game of Gareth Southgate’s tenure as England Under-21s head coach – away to Finland in 2013 – the team were trailing 1-0 and they needed a creative spark. On the bench was Harry Kane. “Which showed what we know about talent observation,” Southgate says with a smile.
Southgate brought him on in the 58th minute, he played him as a No 10 and, nine minutes later, he watched him accept a pass in midfield, squeeze in between two challengers and drift away from a third before releasing Wilfried Zaha with a perfect ball around the full-back. Zaha crossed low and Saido Berahino, the centre-forward, tapped home the equaliser.
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Calvert-Lewin is a purer No 9 than Kane and he sees no reason why they cannot play as a pair
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