By Frank Dalleres
Gareth Southgate has told Jude Bellingham to take the week off England’s Euro 2024 training camp after helping Real Madrid to win the Champions League.
Bellingham capped a fairytale first season with the Spanish giants by beating Borussia Dortmund to the European Cup on Saturday night at Wembley Stadium.
Southgate wants the 20-year-old to enjoy a break from football before reporting for international duty in order to keep him mentally fresh for England’s tilt at the tournament this month.
“We could make him report tomorrow, we could be heavy [saying], ‘you’ve got to be with the group, and integrate as quickly as possible’,” said Southgate on Sunday.
“But let’s think about the individual. That’s what we’re always trying to do. Jude’s played right to the end [of the season], beyond where everybody else has played.
“Psychological freshness will be good for him. He’s super-professional, he’s going to physically tick over. For us, we didn’t need to see him before next Saturday.”
Southgate urged Bellingham to “have time with his family, clear his head, do whatever he wants to do. I’d rather not know! It’s about psychological freshness.”
The midfielder will be one of at least six players from England’s 33-man training squad missing from Monday’s night’s friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Newcastle.
Defenders Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire are recovering from lengthy injuries, Anthony Gordon has a minor knock while John Stones and Bukayo Saka are working on their fitness.
There are also doubts over the involvement of Kobbie Mainoo, Kyle Walker and Phil Foden, who joined up with the squad late after playing in the FA Cup final on 25 May.
Full-back Kieran Trippier is set to captain the national team at his home stadium of St James’ Park and wants England to wear their tag of one of the Euro 2024 favourites with pride.
“I’ve said it many times, we shouldn’t be shy to say that we can win it. We’re not saying that in an arrogant way,” Trippier said.
“We’ve got a great squad, top manager, top staff, we’ve been so close recently over so many years it’s just about taking that next step now.
“I fully believe with this squad that we’ve got, we can go all the way. But we need to earn the right.
“The most important thing is the togetherness we’ve got in the squad. It’s unbelievable, probably the best I’ve been involved in, so we’re all looking forward to it. The first step is tomorrow – and it’s a game that we want to win.”
England face a final friendly against Iceland on Friday after which Southgate must trim his training squad down to a final 26-man party to travel to Germany next week.
