Shocking News: Gareth Southgate discloses the one and only reason he passed on selecting Jack Grealish of Man City for Euro 2024.
Jack Grealish was dealt a disappointing blow at the end of his latest season with Manchester City.
After starting just 10 of the 20 Premier League games he appeared in throughout the previous campaign, the winger was cut from the final England squad for the 2024 European Championship.
Even though he was included in the initial 33-man squad and even delivered an assist in a 3-0 friendly win over Bosnia-Herzegovina before the tournament, the City star was one of the seven players that were cut from the final squad by Gareth Southgate.
Some of the other players that were cut included James Maddison and Jarrad Branthwaite.
With England winning one and drawing two of their three games in the group stage, one pundit has shared a claim about why Grealish ended up not being part of the squad that travelled to Germany.
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Gabby Agbonlahor shares why he thinks Jack Grealish was not included in the England squad
While assessing England’s efforts in the tournament so far on talkSPORT, Gabby Agbonlahor had this to say about some of the players Southgate didn’t put in the squad, including Grealish.
He said: “What I understand with Jack, Maddison, [Ben] Chilwell, all three of them are very close, all three of them like a few [drinks]. There’s a reason why he’s left them.
“They’re not bad eggs but is it because they’ve not the Harry Kanes where everything is football? They like to have a bit of fun. When Jack and Maddison were playing their best, he didn’t want to call up Jack.
“When Jack was one of the best players in the league at Aston Villa, he still wouldn’t call him up. Public pressure made Gareth pick Jack. So, there’s something there where it was a little bit of an excuse last season because he missed a bit of the season with injuries.”
Hopefully Southgate’s decision to not take Grealish was solely based on footballing reasons
This isn’t the first time Agbonlahor has shared his thoughts on Grealish’s omission from the England squad, as he said earlier this month that he was shocked by Southgate’s decision.
Even though the 28-year-old has proved in the past that he enjoys celebrating, as he did to a high degree after City won the Treble, we feel that the England manager should only take footballing factors into account when picking his squad rather than what certain players do away from the pitch.
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Jose Fonte and Wayne Rooney believe Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku is a real threat, but the former identified one area of his game that he must improve.
Doku has featured in all three of Belgium’s games at Euro 2024 so far.
He impressed in the first two matches, but in the 0-0 draw with Ukraine on Wednesday he did not have much of an influence.
Belgium fans actually booed their own players at the end of the game, after being unhappy with the way the team played.
Belgium did go through as group runners-up though, and will face France in the last 16.
Doku will hope to improve after his showing against Ukraine.
‘With this guy…’: Wayne Rooney and Jose Fonte in firm agreement about £50k-a-week Man City player
‘Hitting and missing’: Craig Burley says £55m Man City star simply hasn’t been good enough at Euro 2024
‘Definitely helps’: Marc Guehi says ‘unbelievable’ Man City player has been so impressive at Euro 2024
‘Cringeworthy’: Paul Merson has now made a claim about Man City and Real Madrid
‘An absolute dream to work with’: Marc Guehi says he absolutely loves playing with £47m Man City player
Jose Fonte says there is one area in which Jeremy Doku needs to improve
Doku is still very much a work in progress.
The 22-year-old has just finished his first season with City, and he finished with seven goals and 10 assists to his name across all competitions.
That is a pretty good return, for a player coming in for very big money from a foreign league.
Doku lit up the Premier League at times with his rapid acceleration and dribbling.
Undoubtedly, he must be a nightmare for a full-back to try and defend against and ahead of Belgium’s game with Ukraine, Doku came in for some praise from BBC pundits Jose Fonte and Wayne Rooney.
Fonte, though, believes there is one thing he needs to improve on – his end product.
He said: “With this guy, you can’t leave him. You can’t leave your full-back exposed one-vs-one because you know he’s going to create you problems.
“He can go left, right, he’s aggressive, he’s positive.
“For me, it’s just a little bit… the decision-making has to improve. The last pass, the last ball, making the right decision. But what a threat he is, great player.”
Rooney reckons Doku’s unpredictability is the key to him being so difficult to defend against. Like Fonte, he also thinks he’s a serious threat.
He added: “I think sometimes he doesn’t know what he’s going to do with the ball. So for a defender, it must be so difficult to defend against when you’re trying to anticipate and understand what he’s going to do.
“He can surprise you, he can go either way and he’s a real threat.”
Doku must be a nightmare to face
- READ MORE: BBC pundit shares what Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne was saying to Jeremy Doku in Belgium vs Ukraine
Doku was not at his best for Belgium against Ukraine. But then, very few Belgium players had good games.
Ultimately for Doku, it is all about finding that consistency.
The £50,000-a-week star’s ability to beat a full-back is not in question. It is all about what he can do when he has to deliver – and at the moment, the end product needs improving.
But Doku is still only 22. He has plenty of time on his side to work on this particular aspect of his game.
The minute he starts to find a bit more consistency with his final ball, then it is going to be truly scary for teams coming up against him.
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