Paul Merson and Clinton Morrison have been discussing Gareth Southgate’s England squad, including the selection of West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen and the call to leave Manchester United’s Jadon Sancho out.
Another rejuvenated Manchester United player in Marcus Rashford was also left out of the latest squad before the 2022 World Cup, but that could also do with his recent injury.
Either way, Sancho’s form last season resulted in him staying at home during the international break, despite previously being a regular.
Whilst someone like Bowen, who scored 12 goals and supplied 12 assists last season, is yet to get off the mark in the Premier League this term.
That sparked huge debate as to whether it was right to leave Sancho out, added in the fact that Jack Grealish is also struggling, despite his first goal of the campaign against Wolves over the weekend.
Merson tried to make the point that, yes Sancho is in ‘better form’ from the previous campaign, but he has ‘zero assists’ to his name in the Premier League this season.
That was argued by former Crystal Palace striker Morrison, who thinks the former Dortmund star ‘should have made the squad’ instead of Bowen, as he told Sky Sports News.
“Sancho is in better form than last season,” said Merson.
But when it was put to Merson that Sancho should have been in the squad, he responded by asking “Instead of who? He has scored two goals and has zero assists.”
Morrison then told him: “I think he (Sancho) should have made the squad. Of course, Jack Grealish scored (against Wolves).
“One player, in particular, and I think he’s a fantastic player. But, at the moment, Jarrod Bowen isn’t in spectacular form, so could you not have a look at Jadon Sancho again?
“At the end of the day, Bowen is a very good player and he deserves it. It is hard because you have a lot of good attacking players.”
A MIXED BAG FROM SOUTHGATE
In some aspects, Southgate isn’t picking form players because the likes of Bowen, Mason Mount, Jack Grealish and Harry Maguire, to name a few, are still getting called.
But, on the other hand, Ivan Toney is being rewarded for his strong start in Brentford colours.
Either way, Southgate’s call to pick a number of out-of-form players could also be seen as loyalty towards them, which should be praised.
But, at the end of the day, those on the outside can rightfully question his calls and this is going to go either way in Qatar – it’s either straight to the final or an early knockout for the Three Lions.
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