Jack Grealish is among the England stars who are not playing at Euro 2024 this summer.
The Manchester City star joined Harry Maguire, Jarrad Branthwaite and James Maddison is being cut from Gareth Southgate’s final 26-man squad earlier this month.
The former Aston Villa star was part of the original 33-man provisional squad – even providing an assist in the warm-up game against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
But the winger did not make the final cut for the flight to Germany with the Three Lions in action in the last 16 vs Slovakia today.
Why isn’t Jack Grealish playing for England at Euro 2024?
Grealish played a key role in City’s Treble campaign during the 2022-23 season but struggled to make a significant impact as Pep Guardiola’s side defended their crown last season.
City teammate Phil Foden and Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon have moved ahead of him in the England pecking order with Cole Palmer and Eze Eberechi emerging as potent attacking options.
In short, Grealish’s performances for City this season did not merit a spot in the final squad.
‘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,’ Southgate said.
‘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.’
‘The fact is we’ve got some players who have been playing extremely well all season in the league and we just feel other players have had stronger seasons – particularly in the past six months or so.
‘Jack [Grealish] would have provided us with something different as well and they’ve been tough calls.
‘They’re calls we’ve gone over and over and over as a group of staff to try to be fair and to try to use the right rationale.
‘We back our decisions but we recognise we could have gone a different route. The boys are big characters, fabulous team-mates and great boys to work with.
‘It’s sad to have to deliver that news to them.’
Has Jack Grealish said anything about his England omission?
Grealish has not yet spoken publicly on his absence from the England side this summer but his City teammate Kyle Walker admitted it was ‘not a shock’ given the level of competition within the squad.
‘Was I shocked when Jack was left out? Shocked because I know what Jack can do. Was I shocked because of the players that he [Southgate] has brought in? No, because I think they’re all at a great quality and they’ve all had fantastic seasons,” Walker said in an interview with ITV Sport.
‘I think Jack would be the first one to say he could have had a better season. I think he’s come out publicly and said he could have had a better season. So what does a manager base it on? Form or people that he knows have had good tournaments or a good season the season before?
‘You’re here on merit. And I believe it should always be like that. You’re in this team because you’ve played well for your club which then puts you into the England fold.’
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