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Jude Bellingham shock candidate to replace Harry Kane as false No 9 for England

Plus: Analysis on why finding solution to fit Bellingham, Foden and Palmer into England team may well define Carsley’s time in charge

Lee Carsley has considered springing a major surprise and trialling Jude Bellingham as a false nine, as the interim manager looks at how to cram as much star talent into his England team as possible.
With captain Harry Kane likely to sit out Thursday night’s game against Greece after training on his own again on Wednesday, Carsley has been assessing his options, which include Ollie Watkins and Dominic Solanke.
But despite having two other out-and-out strikers to call on, Carsley is also understood to have given serious consideration to starting Bellingham as a false nine with Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon all starting with him.
Palmer and Foden could be given the licence to roam from deeper midfield positions alongside Declan Rice, with Saka and Gordon starting either side of Bellingham.
While such a move might excite many fans, it could also prompt criticism of Carsley given Bellingham is yet to score for Real Madrid this season and Watkins and Solanke have both been in good form. 
Watkins, who scored England’s late winner in the European Championship semi-final win over the Netherlands as a substitute, has scored four goals for Villa this season, while Solanke has been on target three times for Tottenham.
While Bellingham has not yet scored this season, he finished the last campaign with 27 goals for club and country, and successfully played as a false nine for Real Madrid.
The Greece game in the Nations League at Wembley is potentially Carsley’s most important in terms of trying to land the permanent England job and experimenting with Bellingham would need to work.
He played Gordon as a false nine for the England Under-21s and used Palmer in a deeper midfield role than he plays for Chelsea.
Former England manager Gareth Southgate did not start Palmer at the Euros and could not find a way of fitting him, Bellingham, Foden, Saka and Gordon all into the same XI.
Asked about Watkins and Solanke, and his options without Kane, Carsley said: “They both fully deserve to be here. The form they’ve both been in is very good. I spoke to them both about how important it is to stay in and around the squad. Not so much Ollie but more Dom – that challenge to stay, to keep being consistent at Spurs and keep putting in the performances.
“Along with a few of the players who can play at No 9, we’ve got plenty of options in that position but obviously Harry’s been the outstanding player for so long for us now. But I feel like we’ve definitely got a Plan B.”
Elsewhere in the team, Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected to get another chance to impress at right-back, ahead of Kyle Walker. Levi Colwill may get the chance to partner John Stones, who will captain the team, in the centre with Rico Lewis starting at left-back.
England travel to play Finland in Helsinki just three days after the Greece clash and Carsley is expected to rotate his team heavily between the two matches.
Kane has been nursing an ankle injury despite meeting up with the England squad this week, while Jack Grealish missed training on Wednesday after picking up a minor knock.
It is when he is driving between games that Lee Carsley allows himself what might just be his most important thinking time if – as expected – he is to be England’s next permanent manager. And, crucially, a successful England manager.
Finding a solution to fit Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer into a team has been occupying Carsley’s mind and may well define his time in charge, and also England’s prospects of succeeding at the next World Cup.
Against Greece, in a Nations League tie at Wembley, we may well receive a glimpse into Carsley’s thinking with the possibility of Bellingham playing as a “false nine” – in Harry Kane’s absence – and with Palmer and Foden in midfield in what could be an extremely attacking and fluid line-up.
When he announced his squad last week, Carsley suggested the short-term solution, given the varying amounts of game-time the players have so far received, would be to rotate them, with England also facing Finland away on Sunday.
But he also said he needed to get “creative”. With Kane struggling through injury, and again not training on Wednesday, it appears Carsley is considering a fairly surprising proposal.
“I’ve definitely got a plan in place,” England’s interim head coach said when asked whether he had an idea of how he would fit in Bellingham, Foden and Palmer into his starting XI. “The beauty of this job is you get a lot of time to think. In between driving from game to game you are constantly thinking about combinations, relationships.”
Presumably, though, that plan is not this one. Unless Carsley is considering an even more drastic approach – and there is no indication that he is – of phasing out Kane, who will be heading towards his 33rd birthday come the World Cup.
It appears tough on Ollie Watkins and, less so as it is his first call-up in seven years, Dominic Solanke, that Carsley is debating whether to go without a specialist No 9, but he certainly cannot be accused of not being bold.
Both Foden and Palmer have occupied that false-nine role for their clubs in the past. So maybe there will be some interchanging in Carsley’s approach against Greece, even if he is mulling over whether to begin with Bellingham, who played there for Real Madrid last season, in that position.
How Carsley eventually solves the conundrum if and when everyone is fit is a far bigger question. It goes to the heart of the age-old debate for international managers: how do you get your best players into the team and still make them function?
Before the last European Championship I wrote that attempting to fit Bellingham, Foden and Palmer into a team could be Gareth Southgate’s “Paul Scholes moment”. That referred to Sven-Goran Eriksson’s inability to successfully integrate Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard into his side.
Unfortunately for Southgate, he did not find the right answer, with Palmer not starting any of England’s seven games, making five substitute appearances amounting to around 85 minutes on the pitch.
It is remarkable, therefore, that this fixture will represent the first competitive start for England men’s player of the year.
Palmer finished ahead of Bellingham and Bukayo Saka in the vote by England fans, revealed on Tuesday, but has earned just nine caps and made only two starts, both in friendlies. In Germany he came on five times – in the 70th minute, 80th, 78th, 66th and 71st minute in the final against Spain, when he scored England’s equalising goal.
Cometh the COLE! 🥶pic.twitter.com/qwFfYbLuw6
The fans’ vote appears pointed, so was Palmer, who has continued his outstanding form for Chelsea in this campaign where he has probably been the Premier League’s most impressive performer, underused at the Euros?
“I can’t really talk about from a seniors point of view what’s really gone on with Cole, but I’ve seen the impact he has had when he’s been given the opportunity,” Carsley said.
“He had a similar role for us in the [Under-21] Euros a couple of years ago where he built into the tournament and then obviously started in the final.” That is not quite true, as Palmer also started a group game and the semi-final on the road to England winning that tournament.
“I think Cole’s in a brilliant position at the minute in terms of he has really found his feet at Chelsea, he’s highly rated, he’s getting minutes, he’s showing that he can handle the intensity of playing game after game,” Carsley said. “So that’s been a real plus for him, and we’re getting the benefit of that because when you talk about players who are in form, the fact that he’s getting so much exposure and his numbers in terms of goals and assists is brilliant for us.”
The solution Carsley is considering against Greece means playing none of the trio in the No 10 role, which they all appear to prefer. Instead, it may well be a 4-3-3 which would allow Palmer and Foden to work in more central areas, moving forward from midfield, with Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon providing the width.
“Phil’s an unbelievable player, we’re very lucky to have someone with his talent and mentality, and we need to make sure we put him in positions where he can really affect the opposition,” Carsley said, suggesting he does not want Foden out wide where he started the Euros for England.
“Sometimes playing him in wider positions, he can do it, but we’d have to change the way we play to get the best out of him. He’d be central a lot, wider maybe when we’re out of possession. I think in central areas Phil’s at his most effective.” 
Making that work and being “effective” with Bellingham and Palmer will be the key for Carsley.

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