Ashley Cole and Roy Keane in agreement over Manchester United and Chelsea stars

Former Chelsea full-back Ashley Cole has had his say on the debate
Former Chelsea full-back Ashley Cole has had his say on the debate

Ashley Cole and Roy Keane have picked between Manchester United's Luke Shaw and Chelsea's Ben Chilwell over who they would prefer to start for England at the European Championships this summer.

The two left-backs are vying for the starting spot, having impressed for both their clubs throughout the season. But both Ashley Cole and Roy Keane are in agreement over who they think should start for the Three Lions.

Speaking to ITV after England's 2-0 win over Albania, Ashley Cole gave his thoughts on the debate:

"I think it’s a tight one between Shaw who I think is just pipping it at the minute. I think he is playing more consistently for Manchester United, whereas Chilwell - some days he plays [for Chelsea ] and some days he don’t. I think at the moment Shaw is in the lead. But who knows? Going into the last games of the Premier League season, who can hold their nerve and keep that consistency up before the squad gets announced."

Luke Shaw has had a career resurgence at Manchester United this season and has become one of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's most trusted players. The Englishman's form has also kept out summer signing Alex Telles from the squad, and has earned him his first call-up for England since 2018.

Roy Keane also prefers the Manchester United man over the Chelsea full-back

Roy Keane is backing the Manchester United full-back
Roy Keane is backing the Manchester United full-back

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane echoed Cole's sentiments, preferring Shaw over Chelsea's Chilwell. He said:

"This year he’s been outstanding. I know he’s had issues under [Jose] Mourinho, obviously, but he’s been consistent this year. Going forward but defensively I think he has the edge over the other full-backs in the England squad. He’s improved that and no one has really got the better of him this season one vs one."

Chilwell, on the other hand, has found it hard to cement his place under Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea. The Englishman has only made 6 starts out of the 14 games that Tuchel has been in charge of, with the German opting to start Marcos Alonso on many occasions.

Chilwell will need an extended run of games in order to displace Shaw from Gareth Southgate's starting XI. The two full-backs are clearly the favorites to make it into the final squad for the Euros.

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Edited by Rohit Mishra
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