England manager Gareth Southgate has warned Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish that they face competition for their places in his Euro 2024 squad.
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Southgate set to finalise England squadGrealish and Rashford could miss outGordon, Bowen and Palmer pushing for spotsWHAT HAPPENED?
Rashford and Grealish have been enduring difficult seasons at club level which could result in both players missing out on Euro 2024. Grealish has been troubled with injuries throughout the current campaign and has started only seven Premier League games for Manchester City. It's been a different story for Rashford, however, who has played regularly for the Red Devils but has struggled to find his best form.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Southgate does have plenty of options out wide and included Jarrod Bowen, Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon in his most recent squad for friendlies against Belgium and Brazil. The trio look set to rival Rashford and Grealish for places in Southgate's final squad, with Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden virtually certain to be on the plane to Germany if they are fit.
WHAT SOUTHGATE SAID
He told reporters: "Jack’s definitely not out of the picture. I spoke to him before I named the squad. But as I said when I named the squad, Gordon and Bowen are pushing those guys.
"I think Anthony Gordon has been excellent for his club. And obviously Marcus got on in the first game. But I wanted to see Gordon again. I thought James Maddison coming on would have an impact and Bowen has also had a really good camp. So there's competition for places.
“I said when I named the squad there is competition for places in those wide areas. A bit of a shame that Cole Palmer missed so much training that we weren't able to put him into the game [against Belgium] at the stage it was having missed most of the week.
“We weren't 100 per cent certain what we would get whereas with Gordon we knew and Maddison we knew. I wouldn't rule Cole out of that equation."
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR RASHFORD AND GREALISH
Both players clearly have work to do between now and the end of the season to convince Southgate they should play at Euro 2024. Rashford had shown some glimpses of a return to form before the international break, scoring three goals in his last three games for Manchester United. Meanwhile, Grealish has been out of action for over a month but has returned to training with City after a groin problem.
