da esoccer bet： There is a slot available in Gareth Southgate's side either on the wing or in midfield, with plenty of players vying to make it their own

da imperador bet： With Euro 2024 just three months away, Gareth Southgate will already have a pretty clear idea of which England players will be walking out of the tunnel to face Serbia at Schalke's Veltins Arena on June 16, injuries permitting. However, away from the guaranteed starters, there is a gaping hole that still needs to be filled in his line-up, with all to play for in the lead-up to the tournament.

Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice are are certain to start off the back of their respective stellar seasons at club level, but there is space for one more to complete look of the Three Lions' midfield and attack.

Southgate finds himself in the enviable position of having a wealth of quality players too choose from to occupy a role as a No.8, attacking midfielder or winger, but the decision is set to be an incredibly tough one. So much will depend on the attacking configuration of the team and where he sees best to use Bellingham, who has been a sensation as a No.10 for Real Madrid this season, and Foden, who has been sublime for Man City in a multitude of positions.

GOAL ranks the England manager's options for his 'sixth man' in Germany this summer…

Getty14Mason Mount

Mount currently feels a long, long way away from the England squad, let alone the starting line-up. The former Chelsea man has endured a miserable debut season with Manchester United, and at this stage it would take something quite special for him to force his way onto the plane to Germany.

In his continuing battle for form and fitness, the midfielder is finally back in action with his club, and it is well-documented that Southgate has favoured Mount in the past. If he can prove his fitness and finally show what he is capable of in the coming months, he might just sneak into the manager's plans.

AdvertisementGetty13Jordan Henderson

When it comes to clinging on to his place in the England set-up, Henderson seems to have the resilience of a cockroach. The 33-year-old retained his place despite his ill-fated and controversial move to Al-Ettifaq in the summer, and his subsequent switch to struggling Eredivisie giants Ajax has been enough to keep him in the picture after he jumped ship from Saudi Arabia, despite things going just as badly on the pitch in Amsterdam.

Southgate obviously loves him and there is arguably something to be said for keeping him around for his experience and work ethic, but he should no longer be anywhere near the starting line-up for the Three Lions. He ranks lowly here, but don't surprised to see him in the XI in Germany.

Getty12Kalvin Phillips

Poor old Phillips. Things have gone from bad to worse for a man who was once a nailed-on starter for Southgate at the base of the England midfield. He sought to revive his club career by joining West Ham on loan in January, having never truly stood a chance of breaking into Pep Guardiola's Man City side, but things have gone awry in east London.

Having been a stalwart of the squad even when he wasn't playing at City, Southgate has now dropped Phillips for the March international break despite him getting regular minutes at the London Stadium, such have been his struggles, admitting Phillips "hasn't been good enough".

He faces an uphill battle to reclaim his place in the squad, but the manager has always rated him, and a return to the team is not beyond the realms of possibility if he can get back on track in the coming months.

Getty Images11Marcus Rashford

Amid an indifferent season during which he has had issues on and off the field with Manchester United, Rashford can count himself lucky to be included in the group for March's friendlies against Brazil and Belgium. He looks a shadow of the lethal attacker who plundered 30 goals in 2022-23, and his chances of laying claim to a place in the manager's first-choice XI seem slim at best.

The hope will surely be that he can rediscover his goal-scoring touch in an England shirt. It was his performances at the 2022 World Cup that kickstarted his season last time around and saw him storm to his best-ever goal-scoring campaign. That player is in there somewhere and can be a weapon for England, but time is against him.