Southgate U-turned on Grealish for England after ‘brutally honest’ remark

Gareth Southgate made some big calls when picking his England squad for the Euros, chief among which was his surprising decision to snub Jack Grealish.

The £100million Manchester City star, who starred at both Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup, was arguably the most high-profile name to be denied a seat on the plane to Germany this summer. This is despite the fact Southgate has admitted to being a “huge fan” of Grealish in the past, even when the former Aston Villa man isn’t at his best – as, admittedly, was the case throughout the 2023/24 season.

That said, he conceded that the midfielder was usually “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 said speaking ahead of England’s 1-0 win over Australia in October.

He went on to hail Grealish – a former Republic of Ireland underage international – as a “fabulous talent” and noted that players of his ilk, name-dropping fellow England reject James Maddison, were useful to have around as they “see the world differently”.

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Fast-forward eight months and both Grealish and Maddison have been left at home. Explaining his decision to snub the pair, Southgate said: “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 England but has featured in just two of the Three Lions’ last six matches. And as Southgate alluded to, he has an enviable array of high-quality attacking options at his disposal, with Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Anthony Gordon, Eberechi Eze and Jarrod Bowen ultimately getting the nod.

Following news he’d been left out of the squad, Maddison took to X to vent his frustration, before wishing the team all the best at the Euros. “Devastated doesn’t quite cut it,” he wrote. “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.” Harry Maguire, Jarrad Branthwaite, Curtis Jones, James Trafford and Jarell Quansah were also cut from the final squad.

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