Lineker: Hodgson Should Start Sturridge Ahead of Rooney

Former Tottenham and England striker, now TV pundit, Gary Lineker urged England manager Roy Hodgson to consider dropping Wayne Rooney for Daniel Sturridge.

Rooney has had an underwhelming season for Manchester United in the Premier League, scoring 17 goals and assisting 10 but was overshadowed by the form of Daniel Sturridge, who scored 21 goals and assisted seven.

Rooney signed a long-term contract with United last season but failed to lift his team to challenge for the title.

On the other hand, Sturridge combined with Luis Suarez to take Liverpool to second position, scoring goals for fun while adding pace to the attack.

Lineker believes that his pace will be an asset for England when they go to Brazil, something which Rooney doesn't provide too often. Both players have their own set of skills but the former Spurs man has encouraged Hodgson to pass the baton to Sturridge.

"I think Sturridge gives us different options, He gives us a threat in behind the opposition which I think is very important. That's something that Rooney doesn't do as often," Lineker said.

"He (Rooney) is very good at coming off, creating space, turning, hitting shots hard and bringing other people into the game, but in terms of a threat in behind the opposition defence, that is Sturridge's territory.

"You've got the conundrum – if Sturridge is up top in the system, where do you play Rooney? Wayne can play anywhere. He can play on the right, he can play on the left, he can even play a forward midfield role.

"But the question then is, 'Have you better players in those particular positions than Wayne Rooney?' We've got all sorts of options. You could have [Raheem] Sterling playing on one side, the possibility of [Adam] Lallana playing on either side, [Danny] Welbeck, of course, which has been favoured by Roy in his teams and you'd expect him to play on the left-hand side because he covers a lot of ground," he concluded.