Three Villa players who could benefit from 26-man Euro 2020 squads

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UEFA have confirmed that the squad limit for this summer’s Euro 2020 has been raised to 26.

That gives Gareth Southgate some extra options to play around with. The former Aston Villa defender likes changing between a back three and four so should appreciate the flexibility.

The announcement should also be a boost to three players currently plying their trade at his old club.

We’ve looked at three Villa stars who should be pleased by this week’s announcement…

Ollie Watkins

Watkins is on hot form, scoring or laying on an assist in each of his last five Premier League matches.

A 26-man squad boosts the chances that Southgate will take another striker to throw in if he needs to chase a game.

Watkins was in the last squad and scored, as well playing regularly and well for Villa.

There are fitness concerns over Danny Ings and Callum Wilson, while Patrick Bamford has gone off the boil.

That all means Watkins is in pole position if another striker is added to the squad.

Ezri Konsa

The increased squad size allows Southgate to take insurance players, meaning he shouldn’t be caught out by injuries.

Harry Maguire, John Stones, Tyrone Mings and Conor Coady are the four likeliest central defenders to go, but Southgate may take another to bolster his plans to play a back five.

Konsa’s case is as strong as anyone’s if he does that, or if one of the aforementioned players drops out through injury.

Plenty of Villa fans felt he should have been in the last squad, but perhaps his maiden call-up will be on the eve of the tournament.

It would be deserved reward for a stellar season.

Jack Grealish

We’ve been through it all with Grealish when it comes to England.

Southgate was initially reluctant to pick him, much to the ire of Villa fans.

When he finally did, he was the standout player in the 2-0 loss to Belgium, before injury kept him out of the last squad.

Then, in April, the Sun reported Grealish faced missing out on the Euros because of Jesse Lingard’s form.

Surely, now that Southgate has 26 players to choose from, Grealish’s place in the squad is assured.

He just needs to get back playing because he’s running out of games before the tournament kicks off and England have been there too many times before in terms of talking half-fit players to tournaments.