Jack Grealish was selected in an initial 33-man squad (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
England boss Gareth Southgate has suggested Manchester City winger Jack Grealish could be dropped from his final 26-man squad for the European Championships.
The former Aston Villa captain was selected in the Three Lions’ initial 33-man provisional squad, with the likes of Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford being left out.
That’s despite Grealish having a below-par campaign at the Etihad, where he managed just four goals and three assists in 41 appearances.
England take on Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday night, before playing Iceland on Friday.
Southgate will then cut his squad down from 33 to a maximum of 26, and he admits Grealish could be in the firing line.
Grealish cut short his holiday to take part in the England camp
(Credits: Martin Rickett/PA Wire)
Asked about axing Grealish from his squad, Southgate said: “I don’t think we’re defining that just yet.
“It’s hard to be quite so specific because we keep sitting down and saying: ‘Okay, if it’s this or this’.
“We have a lot of good players in that area and they are all competing.
“We think we know who the best have been across the season, what we don’t know is how many we need to take or can allow ourselves to take because of the cover we might need in other positions.
“I haven’t talked to him specifically about the cup final. But he has been really bright and he loves being here.”
Southgate was referring to the fact that Grealish was an unused substitute in City’s 2-1 FA Cup final defeat to Manchester United in May.
The winger, who has suffered with injuries this term, cut short his holiday in order to form part of England’s camp for the pre-tournament friendlies.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.