Harry Kane being dropped would benefit England’s creativity woes, Gareth Southgate told

Gareth Southgate is being urged to bench Harry Kane for England's Euro 2024 group stage decider against Slovenia.

The Three Lions are in desperate need of tactical changes on Tuesday, having lacked a creative spark in both outings in Germany thus far. That saw the mood among fans and pundits sour after the painfully lacklustre 1-1 draw against Denmark.

Former Manchester United defender Wes Brown in particular has seen enough, calling for Southgate to freshen things up by dropping none other than captain Kane. The Bayern Munich striker gave England the lead in the 18th minute, but the rest of his performance fell flat, notably giving the ball away near his own box for the equaliser.

And Brown believes Watkins, who was brought on for Kane in the 70th minute against Denmark, should be the one to replace him. He pointed towards Watkins' impressive cameo and different profile when making his argument.

Speaking on Saturday's new episode of Euro Thrash, which you can find on Apple, Spotify and YouTube, Brown said: "I honestly believe Watkins will start the next game. I know Harry Kane is the captain, and when we get through I think he gets back into the team, but I think it's good to give the team something else with a player that can run in behind.

"Unfortunately, Harry came short too many times. When we have such great ability in that midfield, he doesn't necessarily have to.

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BBC presenter Gary Lineker didn't hold back in his assessment of Kane's performance either this week. The England legend criticised him for dropping deep too often and stated he should stay forward to benefit the team.

Brown agreed with Lineker’s analysis, adding: "We need someone to keep the centre-backs pushed back which creates the space. It didn't work when he kept on doing that, or the players didn't know exactly when to run and make it difficult for their defenders.

"There are options on the bench. Watkins comes on, straight away he's down the side, they are all sprinting back and he is causing big problems for Denmark."

Watkins is coming off the back of a stellar campaign with Aston Villa where he netted 19 Premier League goals and finished fourth in the race for the golden boot. His introduction as part of a triple-change was felt immediately on Thursday as he used his speed to trouble the Danish defence with runs in behind.

That was in stark contrast to Kane across either of the two games, sparking debate about the balance of this England team, and what Southgate can do to fix the problem. If Watkins' cameo was anything to go by, the England manager is well within his rights to drop his captain for the final group fixture and experiment with the Villa man.

Watch and listen to Euro Thrash on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify with regular new episodes throughout Euro 2024