Micah Richards believes that one Tottenham Hotspur star should be starting for England ahead of an Arsenal player.
With England having sealed their spot in next year’s World Cup, the debate is already underway regarding the squad Thomas Tuchel should pick and what his best eleven is.
It looks like the England squad is not likely to have too many Spurs representatives this time out, with James Maddison not expected to be fit until next summer, while Dominic Solanke has been nursing an ankle injury for the past few months.
While Solanke will still be hopeful of regaining his spot in the Three Lions set-up, one man who looks certain to be on the plane to North America is Djed Spence, who has made three appearances for England this season.
Micah Richards believes Tottenham star Djed Spence is in England’s best eleven
In the latest episode of The Rest is Football podcast, Micah Richards and Gary Lineker were debating Tuchel’s best eleven.
Richards insisted that he would prefer Spence to start at left-back over Myles Lewis-Skelly, who is no longer Mikel Arteta’s first-choice back four at Arsenal.
The former Man City man said: “You know what? I’d play Djed Spence, that’s who I would play.” Lineker then butted in: “Ahead of Myles Lewis-Skelly?”
Richards responded: “But he [Spence] plays there consistently and is very good defensively and offensively from the left.”
Thomas Frank has sent a warning to Spence
The Tottenham full-back did not get any minutes during the international break, with Nico O’Reilly starting both matches against Serbia and Albania.
Thomas Tuchel admitted that he did not like Spence snubbing Thomas Frank after Tottenham’s defeat to Chelsea, revealing that he spoke to the 25-year-old about the incident.
The England boss warned Spence that he expects a certain standard of behaviour from his players and that they are representing the national team even when they are not in the camp.
- READ MORE: Roy Keane challenges Gary Neville’s verdict on Tottenham defender Djed Spence in England debate