Friday 20 May 2016 09:40, UK
Where does England captain Wayne Rooney fit into Roy Hodgson's side at Euro 2016?
It is a topic being hotly debated right now, given the England manager's range of options in forward positions and Rooney's recent switch to a midfield role for Manchester United after a poor goal return up front this season.
There has also been an intriguing twist, with news Rooney has told Hodgson he would prefer to play at the base of a midfield diamond, effectively as a holding midfielder, according to Sky sources.
Ahead of England's friendly with Turkey on Sunday and with the help of Sky Sports Now guests Stuart Pearce, Alan Smith and Danny Higginbotham and Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher, we look at the range of options - and whether Rooney should be in England's starting XI at all.
Up front
Wayne Rooney is England's record goal scorer, with 51 strikes for his country from 109 caps. Since his international debut in 2003 he has been a fixture in the Three Lions' frontline.
However, Rooney has struggled to find the net at European Championships and World Cups - he has scored just twice in 13 appearances at major tournaments since his four goals at Euro 2004.
The way Kane has played this season and the way he's played for England of late, I think he's going to be difficult to shift.
Now, with Tottenham's Harry Kane and Leicester's Jamie Vardy the top two scorers in England and Rooney returning just seven league goals for Manchester United in 2015/16, he is not necessarily an automatic selection up front.
"The more I watch Kane and Vardy - Kane mainly, I think he's going to be difficult to shift from playing that position now," says Carragher. "I know Kane has come late [to the England set-up in Euro 2016 qualifying], similar to what Wayne did when he was a youngster in Euro 2004, but the way Kane has played this season and the way he's played for England of late, I think he's going to be difficult to shift."
On the left of a 4-3-3
Rooney started the 2014 World Cup on the left of a front three featuring Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck and that role could be an option again for the England captain, with Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy taking up the other spots.
Smith says that may be the best way to incorporate Rooney into the starting XI - he teed up Sturridge's strike in the 2-1 defeat to Italy with a cross from the left. "I've got a feeling Hodgson will go 4-3-3 and Wayne Rooney on the left, which isn't ideal but he's done it before," Smith told Sky Sports Now. "Rooney has done it in World Cups and it might be that's how we accommodate him."
One of the problems you have with a 4-3-3 and Rooney on the left is when you're defending you go into a 4-5-1 and you're expecting Rooney to track the full-back.
However, Higginbotham believes that option could prove detrimental to both England and Rooney when the opposition have the ball.
"One of the problems you have is if you do play 4-3-3 and Rooney on the left, when you're defending you go into a 4-5-1 and you're expecting Rooney to track the full-back," he said. "We saw in the World Cup against Italy when Rooney was asked to track Matteo Darmian and it was a big problem."
As a number 10 behind one or two strikers
If Hodgson sees Rooney as central to his creative play, a No 10 role behind one or two strikers could be a solution. It's an option Higginbotham favours.
"I think Rooney could play at the tip of the diamond," he said. "If you've got players like Vardy and Kane who are going to stretch the opposition, that gives Rooney time and space on the ball to dictate play.
"If you play with a diamond and you play with Eric Dier holding, that allows you to play a forward-thinking system.
"We should go into a tournament now and forget about the opposition - let them worry about England as a nation. We went into the World Cup and worried about Andrea Pirlo against Italy and Luis Suarez against Uruguay, and still lost both of those games. If England play that set-up, there are going to be a lot of nations that are going to be fearful."
At the base of a diamond
A more controversial and surprising option - although one Rooney is seemingly keen on himself - is to position the Manchester United man at the base of a midfield diamond.
The theory would be that, from a deeper role, Rooney would have time on the ball to dictate play. However, would playing a former centre forward in front of the England defence make Hodgson's side vulnerable when they don't have the ball? Alan Smith thinks so.
"Jack Wilshere has played at the base of a diamond and he's not a defensive-minded player and did it quite successfully," said Smith. "But I do think if you're playing two up top, to have someone who isn't defensive-minded at the base is a real risk. Dier seems tailor made for it. He knows the position inside out now, having played there for Spurs."
If you're playing two up top, to have someone who isn't defensive-minded at the base is a real risk.
Pearce agrees. "I wouldn't drop Rooney in front of the back four," he said. "The Achilles' heel of the England squad is at centre-half. That's what cost us in Brazil. That's why we came home early, because we couldn't defend in the middle of our defence. So to put an attacker there, as your shield in front of your centre-halves is a big gamble."
Like the other two pundits, Higginbotham believes a role at the base of a midfield diamond should be reserved for Tottenham's Dier.
"If you're looking at the alternatives, someone like Dier is there, who is a converted centre-half. Football is now going a lot towards counter-attacking, so if your two full-backs are going to be bombing on, and you've got your two centre-backs, I'd want someone like Dier there.
"Dier has been sensational and the way he works with the two centre-backs - especially at Spurs this season, when Spurs have been attacking - I think it's invaluable to have that defensive-minded midfielder there."
Do you play him at all?
Of course, an alternative option for Hodgson is to not play Rooney at all. Does he have more suitable options across the field? Pearce believes Rooney has plenty of competition to make the starting XI in France.
"Rooney is a must-pick for England in the squad, definitely. But, for the starting line-up, he's got his work cut out," said Pearce.
"Up front, if you're going to play one or two players I think Kane and Vardy are ahead of him on form. If you're talking about playing somebody in just behind your strikers, I think Dele Alli, that suits him better and he's slightly better at it than Wayne.
Rooney is a must-pick for England in the squad. But, for the starting line-up, he's got his work cut out.
"So you're look at playing Wayne either wide or in a midfield berth. He's got it all on to fight his way into the team - but he's certainly well worth his position in the squad."
It would be a major story if Hodgson were to omit his captain - but the England manager must do what's best for the team, says Smith.
"The problem Roy Hodgson has got is that he will want to play his captain, his record scorer," he told Sky Sports Now. "It's almost shoe-horning Rooney in or finding a system to accommodate Wayne, which can be a dangerous thing."
Where do you think England should play Wayne Rooney at Euro 2016 - if at all?
