Lionesses left-back concerns: Niamh Charles, Alex Greenwood and the problem position causing England & Sarina Wiegman headaches ahead of Euro 2025

When Charles initially returned from her shoulder injury in early December, all seemed well again for England on the left-back front. She started eight of Chelsea's next 11 games, taking her into the February international break in a good place. That showed in her performances for the Lionesses, too, as the 25-year-old offered plenty in both boxes, won eight of her 10 tackles and generally provided a steady, assured presence on the left flank across the draw with Portugal and a spirited victory over Spain.

However, it is since coming out of that international break that Charles' game time has dwindled at club level. The England international started only three of the Blues' eight games in March, playing just 10 total minutes from the bench in the other five matches.

It's not necessarily her fault, either, but rather because of the electric form of Sandy Baltimore, the French winger who signed from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer. Sonia Bompastor, the Chelsea boss, has moved her compatriot into a defensive role and she has thrived, offering a dynamic attacking threat and lightning recovery pace while refining her off-ball work impressively.

"I'm lucky enough to have two really good left-backs. Niamh is one of them also. That's a luxury to be the Chelsea manager and to have to pick one of them," Bompastor said last week, after Baltimore had starred in the Blues' remarkable comeback from 2-0 down in their Champions League quarter-final against Man City. "I think they bring different qualities into our squad and into our team.

"Sandy is having a really good season. Left-back is not her favourite position. I just felt like she brings so much confidence in the ball when she plays in that position. She's able to hold the ball under pressure and she has a really good left foot. She can deliver really great balls. That's important, depending on the games, to have this quality with Sandy. She's making an impact in her first season for us. I'm really pleased for her."

Bompastor's note about Baltimore's wicked left foot was another reminder of something England lack in their problem position, even when Charles is fit. The Lionesses' squad is incredibly right-footed, particularly in defence, where Greenwood is often their only left-footer.

Wiegman admitted back in October that it is "ideal in possession" to have that left-footed defender, "because that makes it a little bit easier," she said. Those comments came after a 4-3 loss to Germany in which Carter played at left-back. The Gotham star, like Charles, is adept with both feet, but natural on her right.

"We have the same problem in Germany," Christian Wuck, Wiegman's opposite number that day, added. "We have two right-footed players playing on the left. There's a shortage for us. It's something we need to address in our academies and our training and the players we're bringing through. I wouldn't say that we necessarily exposed England's faults, just that on the day our players manage to take advantage of right-footed players playing in a left-footed position."

There are questions that can be asked of Wiegman during her near-four years in charge when it comes to this left-back position. Could she have looked at other options to try and strengthen the depth there? Perhaps. In her defence, though, there have not been too many players really putting their hands up for a chance.

Manchester United fans have often called for Hannah Blundell to get a call-up, owing to her performances on the left in the north-west - though she, too, is right-footed. Gabby George, now also a Red Devil, has had some opportunities under Wiegman, but has never nailed down a regular spot in her squads. Poppy Pattinson, often part of the Under-23 squad, is someone whose case seemed to gain traction in the early portion of this season, but her form for Brighton has been up-and-down at times since, though it would not be a surprise to see her work her way into the senior picture over time.

One other solution Wiegman could opt for is a formation change. During England's run to the 2023 Women's World Cup final, her switch to a 3-5-2 set-up helped hide weaknesses at left-back while also offering Alessia Russo more support in attack and playing into the depth at centre-back.

It's a system that seemed to be left behind for good after a rather dreadful Nations League campaign in the aftermath of that World Cup, but Wiegman did bring it back in December, for a friendly against Switzerland. "We want to be adaptable to what we have in front of us and also how we want to play," she said at the time, speaking about the return to that shape.

But while this system might help at left-back, it could be to England's detriment in other areas. Many of the Lionesses' wingers, for example, are in flying form right now and would not be used to their strengths in a 3-5-2, with it also a shape that doesn’t seem to get the best out of Keira Walsh in midfield.

So, what does Wiegman do? Right now, Charles remains the go-to, especially given she did play 90 minutes in two of Chelsea's three games before this international break. However, if her game time continues the worrying trend of March through the final two months of the Blues' season, and Greenwood doesn't return from her knee surgery in good time before the Euros, this issue will only grow.

The good news is that Wiegman has dealt with this before, and brilliantly so. She led the Lionesses to their first major tournament triumph while playing Rachel Daly, a striker, at left-back, and she changed systems midway through the World Cup, deploying Daly in a similarly unfamiliar wing-back role, to reach the final.

She'll hope that things are simpler this time around, that Charles' game time increases on a consistent basis and that Greenwood is back fit, giving her a couple of options to work with. But if magic needs to be worked on the persistently problematic left-back role to give England a greater chance of another magical summer, at least Wiegman has experience in doing exactly that. It’s just not clear what trick is up her sleeve right now.