Wayne Rooney snubs Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane when naming England’s best player

Wayne Rooney has revealed who he thinks is England’s best player and it may surprise fans.

England take on Greece at Wembley on Thursday before travelling to face Finland on Sunday.

Interim manager Lee Carsley will look to continue his perfect start since taking over from Gareth Southgate after Euro 2024.

He oversaw two wins in his first two games, with victories against the Republic of Ireland and Finland in September.

The former Everton midfielder called up several new faces to his first squad, with Noni Madueke, Morgan Gibbs-White and Angel Gomes all making their debuts in last month’s international break.

While in his latest squad, Carsley called up Spurs forward Dominic Solanke – who has not been capped since November 2017.

Carsley has a number of world-class players in his squad including Ballon d’Or contenders Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and Phil Foden.

When asked to pick the best player in the squad, former England captain Rooney was in no doubt.

“Phil Foden, for me,” Rooney told talkSPORT.

“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.

“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 years’ time at the next tournament, what effect does that have?”

Foden was named PFA Players’ Player of the Year and Premier League Player of the Season for the 2023/24 campaign.

But he has been unable to replicate the same form on the international stage.

At this summer’s Euros, Foden featured seven times but failed to register a single goal or assist as England lost to Spain in the final.

He has since made an underwhelming start to the new season and has not scored in the Premier League so far, having featured in four league games. However, he did net in City’s Champions League win over Slovan Bratislava last Tuesday.

Rooney was quick to praise several other Premier League stars, clearly favouring players in attacking positions.

The former United man also voiced his concern that England have missed out on key opportunities to win trophies, having lost the last two Euros finals.

“Hopefully, they find a new one [goal scorer] in that time or Kane is still banging them in,” added Rooney.

“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.”