London: England’s young forwards must consider leaving major clubs to play more regularly in their preferred positions and boost their chances of breaking into the national team, former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright has said.
Wright said England needed young strikers to compete with Harry Kane following Jamie Vardy’s international retirement before Saturday’s Nations League match against Spain, but added they do not get enough chances to prove themselves.
“They are not coming through the system in order to make a mark at international tournaments,” Wright, who won 33 caps for England in the 1990s, told Sky Sports.
Marcus Rashford has made one start for Manchester United this season and is frequently deployed on the wing by manager Jose Mourinho while Arsenal’s Danny Welbeck is struggling to nail down a spot in Unai Emery’s side.
Wright suggested the likes of Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Chelsea’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek and on-loan forward at Aston Villa Tammy Abraham as well as Liverpool youngster Rhian Brewster had to avoid waiting in the wings for too long.
“Are they going to get into Premier League teams, score goals in order to get Gareth Southgate’s attention? They’ve got so long to go. You’re hoping they won’t stay in those teams,” Wright added.
“These players can’t hang around big clubs and continuously spend your career on loan. You’ve got to go somewhere to get yourself scoring goals because Southgate will take a chance on you if you’re scoring goals.
“The people that are advising them, as great as these clubs are, can’t keep them there.”
