Wayne Rooney has now shared if he would have taken Jack Grealish to Euro 2024, after Gareth Southgate omitted him from his final squad.
There was big disappointment last week for City’s £100 million man, as he failed to make the final 26-man squad for the finals in Germany.
His omission prompted quite the reaction on social media. Many agreed with Southgate’s decision, with Grealish having had a disappointing season with Manchester City. But others felt he could have offered something different.
In the end, Southgate decided to take Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon, Cole Palmer and Jarrod Bowen as his wingers, with Phil Foden also able to operate out wide.
Grealish will now watch his teammates from afar, but Wayne Rooney feels the 28-year-old should have gone.
Wayne Rooney says he would have taken Jack Grealish to Euro 2024
England get their Euro campaign underway on Sunday as they take on Serbia in their first group-stage match.
It is a game they are expected to win. However, Serbia – a physical side – could be tricky customers and get men behind the ball.
Southgate will hope his squad selections will pay dividends and that he will not have regrets about Jack Grealish. It was certainly a bold decision not to take him.
Wayne Rooney has been speaking about the squad – and he reckons Grealish should have been on that plane.
He said on The Overlap: “Grealish, I would have taken him. Bowen on the right, they have Saka, Cole Palmer, Foden could play out there. I would have taken Grealish instead of Bowen.”
One man who does not agree with Rooney is Danny Murphy. The former midfielder said Grealish simply didn’t deserve a place over other players.
No Grealish is a risk
It can obviously be argued that the wide players that have been selected by Southgate have all had better seasons than Grealish.
Bowen, the player Rooney would have left behind for Grealish, scored 20 goals and made 10 assists in 2023/24, which is a highly impressive haul and he does deserve his place in the squad.
But the decision to omit Grealish was a very bold one from Southgate.
Purely because no one retains the ball as well as he does and this is obviously a tournament where England are looking to get results and progress. There will be pressure situations and Grealish is someone who is good at relieving pressure.
There could be times when England are defending a one-goal lead and need territory up the pitch, and Grealish is the man for those scenarios.