Gareth Southgate has refused to give Jack Grealish assurances over his Euro 2024 place and has cast doubt over Harry Maguire being fit for England’s opening game.
Southgate, who was more optimistic about Luke Shaw’s chances of recovering from injury for the tournament, is putting together his final preparations this week. England’s head coach is due to cut seven players from his 33-man training squad after assessing his side when they meet Bosnia and Herzegovina in a friendly at St James’ Park on Monday night and Iceland at Wembley on Friday.
Competition for places is fierce and Southgate, who is considering handing Cole Palmer his first international start, has big concerns in defence. Maguire has not played since 27 April and Southgate said he did not know whether the Manchester United centre-back would be fit when England begin their tournament by taking on Serbia on 16 June.
Marc Guéhi is expected to start in Maguire’s absence but replacements for Shaw are harder to find. Shaw is England’s only recognised left-back and has not played since February. Encouragingly, though, Southgate struck a positive tone on the defender’s rehabilitation.
“He’s progressing very well, I have to say,” Southgate said. “I think I said last week that until we had the players in front of us working with us, there was a lot of information that we didn’t have. We’re pleased with how he’s progressing. There’s still a bit to do before he can get on the pitch in a game situation. But he’s in with a good chance.”
The attention turned to England’s wealth of attacking options and the conundrum that Southgate, who has shown his ruthless side by omitting Marcus Rashford, faces over whether to pick Grealish. Jarrod Bowen, Anthony Gordon, Eberechi Eze and Palmer have had stronger seasons than Grealish, who was an unused substitute in Manchester City’s defeat by United in the FA Cup final.
Southgate, who also has James Maddison in contention in attacking midfield, delayed after being asked whether the City playmaker was in danger of missing out.
“I don’t think we’re defining that just yet,” he said.
“I think we know where we’re likely to be. It’s hard to be quite so specific because we keep sitting down and saying: ‘OK, if it’s this or this ...’ But then somebody else in the room says: ‘Yeah, but what about if we lose that player there, or that one doesn’t come through with his injury? Do we need another one in this area?’ Time is our friend this week. It’s worth using the time.”
Grealish’s hunger was clear when he reported early for duty last week. “I haven’t talked to him specifically about the Cup final,” Southgate said. “But he has been really bright and he loves being here. He’s had a good energy about his training. This season he has not played as much. I’m sure he would have liked that to be different but we know the qualities he can bring. He is a player we enjoy working with and a character we enjoy having within the group.”
Southgate, who said he had not thought about using a back three, considered whether there were more threats to Grealish’s position this time. “I don’t know about more pressure because I think you always at this level are competing with good players,” he said. “There are a lot of good players in that area of the pitch and they are all competing. We think we know who the best have been across the season. What we don’t totally know is how many we need to take or how many we can allow ourselves to take because of the cover we might need in other positions as well.”
The omission of Jordan Henderson and Kalvin Phillips has created an opening alongside Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham in midfield. Southgate is expected to use these friendlies to see whether Trent Alexander-Arnold deserves to start instead of Conor Gallagher, Kobbie Mainoo and the uncapped duo Curtis Jones and Adam Wharton.
“There are a few different options,” he said. “Whatever they are is going to be slightly new, different, because we are talking about a player who doesn’t play there regularly or a young player who is coming in there to play. We are actually looking forward to working through that.”
Southgate is excited about Alexander-Arnold’s “quality with the ball” and the Liverpool right-back’s growing understanding of playing in midfield. “In the last year or so by playing there for his club he has got more comfortable with receiving the ball in tight areas. It’s not quite the same as receiving with the touchline to one side. The pitch geography is a little bit different. But it’s the quality on the ball. That’s why we have tried it previously because we felt he could offer something that at that stage we didn’t have.”
John Stones, Bukayo Saka and Gordon are not in contention to face Bosnia. The game has come too soon for Stones after the Cup final and Saka and Gordon are being given time to complete recoveries from injury.
