GARETH SOUTHGATE has shown that he is not afraid of making difficult decisions – which is just as well as he picks his Euro 2020 squad.
No matter what selection of players he takes to the tournament, there will be some major casualties.
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With just one more international to go before he must outline his preliminary squad, the Three Lions boss still has plenty of question marks to consider.
Here, SunSport details five top players who may end up missing out on a place at the Euros.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
Southgate came in for some major criticism for leaving the Liverpool defender out of his squad for this month’s internationals.
Alexander-Arnold, 22, has been part of a struggling Reds team this season and his national boss stated: “I don’t feel he’s hit that level he’s hit with Liverpool for England.”
However, Southgate is clearly a fan of the right-back and selected him for the 2018 World Cup before he had won a cap.
Having previously dropped Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier, the manager has an embarrassment of riches in this position and anything but a stellar end to the campaign could lead to Alexander-Arnold spending the summer on Merseyside.
James Maddison
A serious case of bad timing may have scuppered Maddison’s biggest chance to impress ahead of the Euros.
The Leicester star had been in a fine run of form before being ruled out injured for this month’s internationals.
Southgate has only given him 34 minutes in an England shirt and was said to be less than impressed when he headed to a casino after withdrawing through illness in October 2019.
Competition will come from club mate Harvey Barnes, Jude Bellingham and Jesse Lingard with Southgate certainly a fan of the West Ham loanee.
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Bukayo Saka
There is an argument that Saka’s place in the Euros squad is basically out of his hands.
A rising star at Arsenal whose versatility certainly plays into his favour, it may be that there is simply no room for the 19-year-old this summer.
Raheem Sterling, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Phil Foden, Mason Mount and Jack Grealish are probably ahead of him in the pecking order.
If all of those stars are fit, would Southgate cut a central midfielder such as Kalvin Phillips or a striker such as Ollie Watkins to keep Saka in? It’s a lovely problem to have in theory but incredibly difficult in reality.
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Tammy Abraham
Any of England’s reserve strikers could easily feature on this list, as the job of backing up Harry Kane will be fiercely fought over.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is in pole position with Watkins also in this month’s squad and scoring past San Marino.
Callum Wilson, Mason Greenwood, Danny Ings and Patrick Bamford are all hoping to make their case in the final weeks of the season.
But Abraham has been involved with Southgate the longest, having debuted in 2017, and his lack of a league goal since December will have to give way to some serious form to secure his spot at the Euros.
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Kyle Walker
We started with a right-back so let’s end on one.
With Alexander-Arnold fighting for a recall and Aaron Wan-Bissaka overdue an opportunity, the fact is that a big name will have to give way.
Kieran Trippier should be Atletico Madrid’s first-choice as they chase down the LaLiga title and Reece James appears to be cementing his place.
Meanwhile, Walker is no longer a guaranteed starter for Manchester City and the Three Lions moving away from a back-five may hurt his chances of a ticket to Euro 2020.
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