Rachel Daly's shock England retirement presents the Lionesses with a genuine No.9 conundrum

The Aston Villa star surprised everyone with her announcement on Wednesday, one which gives Sarina Wiegman plenty to ponder in the striker department

There was plenty of shock when Rachel Daly announced her England retirement on Wednesday morning. Indeed, it came a little over 12 hours after the 32-year-old had been in action for her country, as a substitute in the Lionesses' 2-0 win over Ireland. Daly has been a staple of this side for years now, a key part of the European Championship triumph in 2022 and last year's run to the World Cup final. But, as the news was given time to sink in, it felt less and less surprising.

After all, Daly hasn't started any of England's last eight games. Having finally established herself as a centre-forward for her country, after years of playing at full-back, wing-back or anywhere but her natural role, the last nine months have seen her go from challenging strongly for the No.9 shirt to being a distant back-up to Alessia Russo. Opportunities have been few and far between, and now Daly will be solely focused on being the best Aston Villa striker she can be.

Despite that, the news does pose a real conundrum for the Lionesses, and it gives Sarina Wiegman plenty to ponder as England build-up to that European title defence in Switzerland next summer.

Falling out of favour

That's because Daly was the only other striker in this England squad aside from Russo, and that has been the case for a long time now. The 32-year-old was neck-and-neck with her younger team-mate before the World Cup, even starting the Lionesses' send-off friendly as the No.9, but she has fallen firmly behind her in the pecking order in recent months.

Daly's last start as a centre-forward for England came back in September, when Russo was rested by Wiegman for the visit of Scotland in the first round of Women's Nations League fixtures. She was excellent in that game, in fact, and it felt like the competition for that place was going to remain hotly-contested for the foreseeable future, even though Daly had been moved to a wing-back role in Wiegman's new 3-5-2 set-up during the World Cup.

However, she reverted to that wide position in the following game, a poor defeat to the Netherlands, and that proved to be her final start for England. Wiegman ditched the formation shortly afterwards, returned to her tried-and-trusted 4-3-3, and Russo has been almost ever-present in the central striker role since.

Surprise choice

The versatility of Lauren Hemp has also played a part in Daly's lack of opportunity, with Wiegman playing the Manchester City winger in the No.9 role for England's must-win games (and must-win by a lot of goals due to goal difference permutations) against the Netherlands and Scotland back in December.

That she chose Hemp in those situations felt a little damning of the goal-scoring abilities of her strikers. If these were games where England were going to be playing on the counter and relying on pace in behind, then sure, but the Scotland match in particular was a dominant one for the Lionesses, one in which the No.9 would get a lot of chances. But it also highlighted a real lack of depth in that position beyond Russo and Daly.

Familiar faces

So, what happens now that Daly has retired? Who does Wiegman call upon? There are other options for her to choose from when it comes to experienced and established names, with the frontrunners being Nikita Parris and Beth England. Both have been valuable members of the Lionesses squad before, with both part of the triumphant Euro 2022 campaign, while England was chosen to go to the World Cup last year, too.

Like Daly, the latter is a pure No.9 and her goal-scoring form for a relegation-threatened Tottenham side at the end of the 2022-23 season was out of this world, helping her to earn a late, surprise call-up to the World Cup. Due to surgery in the summer, England's current campaign didn't start until December, and she's not quite found her shooting boots yet as a result, but she remains one of the Women's Super League's most dangerous centre-forwards.

Parris, meanwhile, has alternated between being an electric winger and a goal-scoring No.9 in her career, and right now she is in the latter phase again. The 30-year-old has 16 goals this season for Manchester United, with it a surprise to many that she hasn't been called up by Wiegman in recent months given that form.

Genuine competition

The question is, would England or Parris really bring competition to the No.9 role right now when you consider how little opportunity they have had in Wiegman's tenure to date?

Parris' last England call-up was way back in November 2022, a few months after she had seen just three minutes of action as a substitute during the Euros. England's last involvement, meanwhile, was the World Cup, which isn't a surprise given her time on the sidelines, and she was a regular substitute in the latter stages of games in Australia. However, she's only made two competitive starts under Wiegman, both against Latvia in European qualifiers, both games absolute thrashings (10-0 and 20-0).

It's clear that both are great players and very useful centre-forwards. But if Wiegman doesn't see them as genuine contenders for meaningful minutes with this team, then perhaps it doesn't make much sense to bring them in.

It's also worth noting that both will be 30 years old when England celebrates that milestone birthday in June, and the manager may be instead interested in bringing someone in who can develop with the Lionesses over the next few years.

Someone new

If that was to be the case, then this could be a real opportunity for Aggie Beever-Jones. The Chelsea youngster has been on the brink of an England breakthrough all season, and this could be the moment that door finally opens.

Beever-Jones has spent the past two seasons on loan, first in the Championship with Bristol City, and then in the WSL with Everton, and has now progressed to the point that she has become an important player for the champions of England. Her performances with England's Under-23s have also caught the eye, and Wiegman admitted a few months ago that she was in her thoughts for a call-up. "She's in our conversations, but I think it's a little bit too early when you consider the competition we were just talking about," she said.

Daly's retirement removes some of that competition from the No.9 role, a position Beever-Jones has been developing in at Chelsea. "Being in a squad like we are, you have to get used to sometimes playing out of position," she said earlier this season. "I’ve grown up playing on the wing, but I’ve come here and ransitioned more into a nine. I see it as a positive that I can understand the game from different aspects.”

Getting the timing right

It all depends on whether Wiegman feels this is the time for Beever-Jones to make that step up and if her development would benefit more from being in the senior team now, as opposed to the U23s. From the outside, it certainly feels like the 21-year-old is more than ready, and her performances for Chelsea this season, in some really big games, have shown that.

If she is just going to sit on England's bench and struggle for any meaningful minutes, like Daly has for the past few months, there could be more benefit of her playing regularly for the U23s. “We can be guilty of it as a young player, wanting everything straight away,” Beever-Jones told the Guardian in January. “There’s no harm in me being in the U23s and getting that game-time there. As long as I’m making Emma and Sarina happy, then I’m happy.”

But she could well be ready to come in and play an important role for the senior team. Indeed, she could even be one of the super-subs England have been missing for the best part of two years, especially if her impact from the bench for Chelsea is anything to go by.

Time to think

Daly might not have played a lot of football for the Lionesses lately, but her retirement is a genuine loss. A popular personality in the team, a versatile and reliable player and a top professional, her retirement will force Wiegman to reassess the depth in the No.9 role, its pecking order and the make-up of her future squads, now that her natural back-up to Russo is not available.

What is good for the England boss is that time is on her side. The next international break doesn't begin until late May and the Euros are not until next summer, so Wiegman doesn’t have to rush in figuring out what is best for both the short and long-term, for her team and the players involved.

Is this the chance for one of England's most promising young talents to make her breakthrough? Or is a familiar face going to get a chance to play a long-awaited bigger role?