BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton admitted that he is ‘baffled’ with the “whole” situation involving one Manchester United star at Euro 2024 in Germany this summer.
Several Manchester United players were called up by their respective nations for Euro 2024 and the 2024 Copa America in the United States.
Scott McTominay has been in action for Scotland while Rasmus Hojlund and Christian Eriksen have been representing Denmark at the tournament.
Marcus Rashford has missed this summer’s Euros after he failed to make the England squad under Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate.
Former United captain Harry Maguire, who is a key player for Gareth Southgate, is also absent from the Three Lions’ campaign due to an injury.
Despite the absence of Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire, England boss Southgate did call up Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw to his 26-man squad for the Euros.
Sutton critical of Southgate decision
Speaking to the Metro, Chris Sutton raised his concerns over Gareth Southgate calling up Manchester United defender Luke Shaw to the England squad.
Luke Shaw missed the second half of the campaign last season at Old Trafford due to an injury, but Southgate included the United star in his England squad.
The 28-year-old United full-back is England’s only real specialist left-back, with Southgate missing the key influence Shaw offers from the flank.
“I find the whole Luke Shaw situation baffling,” Sutton said.
“Southgate talked about it being a gamble and that he may be fit for later on in the tournament, but England so clearly lack balance down that side.
“That looks like a gamble, which has gone wrong at this moment in time because you need balance for the here and now.
“And even if Shaw does come back in the next few games, he doesn’t have a great record of staying fit. So even when he does play, how fit is he going to be?
“I do think that’s an issue. I think England, you know, anybody can see that black balance down that side and it’s going to harm their chances in this tournament.”
Shaw at Euro 2024 with England
Shaw made the bench for England’s 1-0 win over Serbia in Group C before he was left out of the squad for the 1-1 draw against Denmark on Thursday.
The United star only managed 15 appearances across all competitions for the Red Devils in the 2023-24 season, with injuries limiting his first-team minutes.
Southgate, much like United boss Erik ten Hag, has spoken highly of the influence that Shaw has on the pitch, despite his injury record in his playing career.
According to The Daily Mail, Shaw trained away from his teammates during a training session at the England camp on Friday.
The England international is still in a race to recover from his injury and doubts have been cast over his involvement in England’s Euro 2024 campaign.
It remains to be seen whether or not Southgate will be able to turn to Shaw for England’s final Group C clash against Slovenia on Tuesday.