Wayne Rooney names ‘the best player England have got’ with Bellingham, Kane snubbed

Man Utd legend Wayne Rooney has snubbed Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane when deciding on “the best player England have got”.

England are still looking for their first major trophy since the 1966 World Cup despite Gareth Southgate possessing a squad at Euro 2024 rich in talented players.

The Three Lions are spoilt in a number of positions, especially in attacking areas, with world-class stars Bellingham and Kane two of their standout players.

But when asked who is the best player out of the current England talent pool, Rooney said on talkSPORT : “Phil Foden, for me.

“I know he hasn’t played that much this season for Man City but Phil Foden at his best is the best player England have got.

“Cole Palmer has been sensational since going to Chelsea and you see everything Jude Bellingham is doing at Real Madrid. But for me Phil Foden is the one, I really enjoy watching him.”

Southgate led England to back-to-back European Championship finals and the quarter-finals and semi-finals at the last two World Cups.

On the trophy prospects of the current squad, Rooney added: “They’re very talented.

“I just hope they haven’t missed it in the last few tournaments because obviously someone like Harry Kane, who has scored a lot of goals, if he’s not quite there in two year’s time at the next tournament, what effect does that have?

“Hopefully they find a new one in that time or Kane is still banging them in. I just hope they haven’t missed it but then again they’ve still got Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, James Maddison… they’ve got lots of exciting young players.

“They will be there or thereabouts in the next tournament I’m sure and hopefully they can get over the line.”

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Despite the progress made under Southgate, the former Middlesbrough manager took a lot of flak for his conservative approach to tournament football.

On Southgate, Rooney continued: “He was unbelievable.

“To get England to two finals and a semi-final, he’s done something no one else has done since 1966. He got us really close to winning a trophy so yeah, I think he did a fantastic job.”

Rooney briefly played with England interim boss Lee Carsley at Everton and when asked whether he thought he could be a future manager, the Man Utd legend replied: “I never even thought about it to be honest, I didn’t play with him very long.

“He was at the end of his career and I was at the start so you don’t really look at your teammates like that.

“From people I’ve spoken to who have worked with him, he seems to be a really good coach. The next step is just continuing what Gareth was doing but maybe with a bit more urgency from the team.”