Tom Huddlestone has told the Football Show on Sky Sports (13/10/20 at 10:25 am) that England manager Gareth Southgate doesn’t ‘fully trust’ Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish.
Last Thursday, Grealish was handed his first start for England and he thrived on his full debut by providing an assist and winning the Man of the Match award during his side’s 3-0 win over Wales.
But for the next match, Southgate opted to drop Grealish to the bench and play Mason Mount, who scored a deflected winner during a pretty lacklustre win against Belgium.
Huddlestone, who played with Mount during his days at Derby County, admitted his surprise at Grealish not being picked against Belgium but thinks that it comes down to what the Villa man does without the ball.
“It was quite surprising, to be honest,” Huddlestone told Sky Sports. “Without sounding too disrespectful to Wales, with the step-up in quality and class, Belgium are ranked number one in the world for a reason.
“You almost get the feeling that Southgate doesn’t fully trust Jack against the bigger teams. He went with Mason Mount. We had him a couple of seasons ago on loan at Derby and he has got the lot. In possession and out of possession. He gives 100% every day.
“Gareth seems to trust that side, without the ball, Mounty more than he does Jack, at the moment.”
England are due to play Denmark in another UEFA Nations League encounter tonight and Grealish will be expected to start from the bench once more.
The problem the critics have is that after that MOTM display in his first start for his country, Grealish is not only left on the bench for the next game but he doesn’t even make an appearance as a substitute.
In truth, the only thing Grealish can do is show his worth when he is given the limited chances by Southgate and then continue to do bits at club level because he has started the season in a very strong fashion.
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