Gareth Southgate named his final squad of 26 players ahead of England’s upcoming Euro 2024 campaign with the decision to omit Jack Grealish representing the biggest shock.
The Manchester City star, who cost the Premier League champions £1,000,000 when he signed from Aston Villa three years ago, has assumed cult hero status with Three Lions fans during Southgate’s reign.
After playing a prominent role in City’s momentous treble-winning campaign 12 months ago Grealish, by his own admission, struggled to make a significant impact as Pep Guardiola’s relentless winning machine retained the Premier League title for the fourth season in a row.
The emergence of Cole Palmer, his former City teammate who enjoyed a stellar year at Chelsea, has only heightened the competition for places in England’s attacking positions where Southgate is already well stocked with options including Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka.
The likes of Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon and West Ham’s Jarod Bowen will offer cover in wide areas and it is understood that their status as lower profile players was taken into account when the decision was made to axe Grealish.
A source toldthe Daily Telegraph: ‘It’s much easier to leave other players on the bench.
‘The cameras would constantly be on Jack and the commentators would be asking when he was going to play if he was on the bench and England weren’t winning.’
Gareth Southgate explains Jack Grealish snub
Judging whether or not Southgate was right to leave Grealish out of the squad will have to wait until after the tournament, but the England boss spoke with typical elegance and composure at yesterday’s press conference and remains confident his team will thrive in Germany over the course of the next month.
Speaking ahead of tonight’s friendly against Iceland, he said: ‘All the players took the decisions respectfully and all the players believe they should be in, that’s why they’re all top players with that mindset.
‘We have some players that have performed extremely well this season and other players have had stronger seasons.
“In the attacking positions we’re blessed with a lot of options and Madders and Jack give us something different.
‘They were tough calls, but we back our decisions but recognise we could’ve gone a different route. It was sad to have to deliver that news to them.’
James Maddison and Harry Maguire also miss out
Grealish was far from the only high-profile absentee with James Maddison and Harry Maguire both failing to make the cut, the former paying the price for a dissappointing second half of the season with Spurs and the latter struggling to recover from an injury that ruled him out of last month’s FA Cup final.
A devastated Maddison wrote on X: ‘Devastated doesn’t quite cut it. Trained well and worked hard all week but if I’m honest with myself, my form for Spurs when coming back from injury in the second half of the season probably wasn’t at the levels I had set which gave Gareth a decision to make.
‘I still thought there would be a space for me in a 26 man squad as I feel I bring something different & had been a mainstay in this whole qualifying campaign for Euro 2024 in Germany but the manager has made the decision and I have to respect that. I’ll be back, I have no doubt.
‘Wishing the boys all the luck in the world out in Germany, unbelievable group and lads that I literally call some of my best friends. I genuinely hope football comes home.’
An equally crestfallen Maguire, a mainstay of England’s most recent tournament successes, meanwhile, said: ‘I am devastated not to have been selected to play for England at the Euros this summer. Despite my best efforts, I have not been able to overcome an injury to my calf.
‘Maybe I pushed myself too hard, to try and make it. Simply, I am absolutely gutted. For me, representing England is the highest honour. It means everything to me. If I can’t help the team as a player, I will support them as a fan – along with the rest of the country. Go and win it boys.
‘Next, I will return to the supervision of the Manchester United medical team in order to prepare for next season.’
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