Troy Deeney Urges Tuchel to Hand Will Lankshear England Chance
Troy Deeney has called on Thomas Tuchel to leave Dominic Calvert-Lewin out of England’s next plans and give Middlesbrough forward Will Lankshear a senior chance instead.
The former Watford captain believes England must begin preparing beyond Harry Kane, who will be 35 by Euro 2028. His intervention follows the Three Lions’ 3-2 loss to Spain, when Kane missed a key penalty before Calvert-Lewin replaced him for the closing seven minutes.
Calvert-Lewin questioned after Spain cameo
Calvert-Lewin has started the campaign well at Leeds, but Deeney felt his short appearance against Spain did not offer Tuchel a fresh answer at centre-forward.
Deeney said he learned nothing from the 29-year-old’s late introduction, joking that the Leeds striker committed “57 fouls in four minutes”. He stressed that Calvert-Lewin has performed strongly for his club, but does not see him as England’s long-term solution.
Lankshear backed for England step-up
- Will Lankshear, 21, has scored six Championship goals for Middlesbrough this season.
- The striker also found the net on his England Under-21 debut against Kazakhstan.
- Deeney wants Tuchel to bring Lankshear into the senior environment to assess his potential and allow him to learn alongside Kane.
Deeney accepted that Championship form does not automatically translate to the Premier League or international football, but argued that Lankshear’s route through England’s youth teams makes him worth testing. He described the forward as a player in his early 20s who could be evaluated for the future rather than another experienced deputy.
What happens next
Tuchel must make his decision before the next international break. England’s head coach can either retain established cover behind Kane or use the coming squad selection to begin integrating younger attacking options such as Lankshear.
