Gareth Southgate has performed a major U-turn regarding his stance on James Maddison and Jack Grealish.
Gareth Southgate has performed a major U-turn regarding his stance on James Maddison and Jack Grealish.
On Thursday Southgate whittled down a 33-man provisional squad to the required 26 ahead of the European Championships in Germany.
Surprise snubs for the tournament included Harry Maguire, who had endured an injury, as well as Grealish and Maddison.
The absence of the latter two raised eyebrows among a contingent of England fans, particularly in light of Southgate’s past assessment of the pair.
Speaking ahead of England’s 1-0 win over Australia in October, Southgate conceded that Grealish was often “brutally honest” about his performances and that his candidness often harms his form and confidence.
“Sometimes I think he’s too hard on himself,” Southgate insisted.
However, he went on to hail the Manchester City winger as a “fabulous talent”, noting that players of his ilk, including fellow England reject James Maddison, were useful to have around as they “see the world differently”.
Explaining his decision to leave the pair out of the squad for the upcoming Euros, Southgate said on Thursday: “We’re blessed with options in attacking areas, all offering something slightly different. Madders and Jack give us something different as well, so they’re tough calls.
“We’ve gone over it and over it as staff to try and be fair. We back our decisions but we recognise we could have gone a different route. Both boys are big characters and great to work with.”
Grealish has earned 36 caps for the Three Lions but has featured in just two of their last six matches, while Maddison has just seven caps to his name.
Jarrad Branthwaite, Curtis Jones, James Trafford and Jarell Quansah were also cut from the final squad.