Why Lewis Dunk could be the man to take Harry Maguire out of the firing line

Lewis Dunk won his second England cap in his nation’s 3-1 win over Scotland. He started the match ahead of several seasoned veterans and looked like he had been playing at this level all his career.

Furthermore, the performance of Dunk may spell big trouble for one of Gareth Southgate’s regular players, the much-maligned Harry Maguire.

Dunk and Brighton continue to impress

Included in a #ThreeLions squad for the first time since 2018.

Congratulations, Lewis Dunk! pic.twitter.com/kePfiDXXBZ

— England (@England) May 24, 2023

Lewis Dunk typifies the growth and development at the Amex Stadium, and it’s great that the England boss has recognised this.

Brighton aren’t just a club here for the benefit of others to come and buy their best players. The Seagulls are a developing side who are getting better and have just qualified for Europe.

An example of how far Brighton has come can be seen in the latest betting. In years gone by, Brighton would have been one of the sides favoured for relegation by the bookmakers.

But after 4 games, the Premier League betting odds have the Seagulls in the betting mix to finish in the top four, where they are 5/2 to finish in the top 4 and 4/5 to finish in the top 6.

That puts Brighton just behind Chelsea in the betting. The Betfair bet calculator can work out the amount of money a bet on any of the Premier League clubs will pay if it wins.

Figure of fun
For a long time now, Harry Maguire has been a figure of fun for football fans up and down the country. He’s been booed by fans of his club and nation and was even recently ironically cheered onto the pitch at the Emirates by Arsenal fans.

Harry Maguire says he's 'happy' to take abuse to help his England teammates pic.twitter.com/wPr4gX3Vqw

— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) September 14, 2023

But despite all his mistakes, and the clear lack of confidence he is suffering, Southgate has stuck by the Man Utd defender. It’s regularly said in the press this is out of blind loyalty, but it may be for another reason.

Take Raheem Sterling for an example. He was also accused of living a charmed life under Southgate, continually picked when not performing well for his club side.

But given the abundance of attacking quality now at Southgate’s disposal, Sterling can’t get in his squad. And this, after a return to form this season.

And this is where the comparisons lie with Lewis Dunk and Harry Maguire. Maybe no one offered England a better alternative to a Maguire-style defender than the man himself. A guy who may have a mistake in him, but is dominant in the air in both boxes and can play out from the back.

Dunk looks like the ideal replacement for Maguire
England have the passing skills of John Stones and the speed of Kyle Walker, but Southgate depends a lot on set pieces, and this is where Harry Maguire is important.

But with the emergence of Lewis Dunk, Maguire’s place has to now be under threat. Dunk ticks all the aerial boxes that Maguire does. But is a better footballer on the deck and is also playing with confidence.

Whatever the criticisms of the England boss, his squads are balanced. Whether that be between youth and experience or workhorses and skilful players, Southgate usually incorporates a bit of everything.

This applies to big physical players like Maguire, and Southgate may have believed that Maguire was just the best player available for that role in the squad.

But this argument is losing validity as Lewis Dunk looks to be a far better alternative. He’s strong in the air, he’s also playing every week, is now in Europe, and seems to be getting better with age.

If at any point Gareth Southgate thinks it’s time to take Maguire out of the firing line. He now knows he has the ready-made replacement in Lewis Dunk