In his first Exclusive Column for caughtoffside, British super-agent Haydn Dodge lifts the lid on what’s really going on in professional football, including which two Man City players are trying to convince Jude Bellingham to join them at the Etihad and which player Gareth Southgate is relying on to get the best of France (if England get that far), plus much more…
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Man City duo are doing everything to convince Jude Bellingham…
Jude Bellingham is definitely on course to become football’s next big transfer saga. So many clubs are watching him but despite the interest being shown in him now, including from Real Madrid, who I have already spoken about, he may actually wait and move for free. I know it’s crossed his mind, but I also know that Erling Haaland and Phil Foden have been in his ear about moving to Manchester City.
Haaland is absolutely desperate to link back up with him again and when it comes to Foden, it’s clear to see how well he gets on with Bellingham, England fans saw that for themselves on Tuesday against Wales.
Not only that, but with the Financial Fair Play pressure on Man City, there are talks in the industry that Jack Grealish may be the player that is sacrificed if they do decide to go in for Bellingham – from what I’m hearing too, Aston Villa could look to bring Grealish back. It’s certainly a possibility and one that won’t be ruled out.
Marcus Rashford isn’t guaranteed England start against Senegal…
Marcus Rashford made all the headlines for his performance against Wales. He did play really well, especially in the second half, and it’s nice to see him in good form because he hasn’t been at his best for the last couple of seasons.
In my opinion, he became a bit stale at Manchester United. He’s a hybrid player – someone who can play as a centre-forward or as a winger, but when it comes to England, he’s not going to play up top because Harry Kane is the poster boy.
The fact he did so well against Wales is all because Gareth Southgate made a minor tweak and swapped Rashford and Foden and stopped them from being inverted wingers and allowed them to operate on their more natural sides. It worked well against Wales, but put it this way – if Southgate doesn’t keep this same momentum going, he’s going to come back from Qatar with his P45.
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As for Rashford and whether or not his performance against Wales will be enough to nail down a starting spot against Senegal on Sunday, I’m not so sure.
He could be a really impactful substitute at around the 60 – 70 minute mark. I’m just not sure he’s guaranteed a starting spot. I can see Southgate going back to his usual front three of Raheem Sterling, Bukayo Saka and Kane.
Gareth Southgate already has a plan for France…
Another player who came in and did well was Kyle Walker.
I think Walker was used against Wales as a way to give him some minutes to prepare him, not just for Senegal, but for France, and Kylian Mbappe in particular.
I definitely think Southgate’s mind is already on facing France in the quarter-finals.
In two games’ time (fingers crossed we get there), I bet he will go to a back five and instruct Walker to play on the right side of three centre-backs and cover for Kieran Trippier.
But when it comes to what lineup Southgate will go with against Senegal, which is our first hurdle, we can speculate as much as we want, but in my opinion, if he opts for Jordan Henderson alongside Declan Rice over Bellingham then massive questions will need to be asked.