Bukayo Saka has been likened to Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah following England’s draw with Ukraine.

Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka has been compared to Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah after starring for England against Ukraine. Joe Cole made the call on the 22-year-old following the 1-1 draw in Poland on Saturday.

Cole said on Channel 4: “You can’t defend that because he’s got this ability like Lionel Messi where he takes it backwards. So the defender, you can stop him but he takes it back and he’s still got the ability to whip it with so much power.

“There’s only a few [players] – Mo Salah’s got it, Lionel Messi’s got it and Bukayo Saka’s got it. When he gets in that position, he’s clinical.

While Jill Scott added: “Yeah we’ve said Saka in that position, he has nailed it down. You see by his performance today, he can cut in, he can stay wide, he can put crosses in.

“On that left side there’s still a question mark. Obviously we saw Maddison in there today but if we are going to build on getting them connections better, that quick play, I think we need to nail on who’s going to play on that left-hand side.”