Jack Grealish was dealt a disappointing blow at the end of his latest season with Manchester City.
After starting just 10 of the 20 Premier League games he appeared in throughout the previous campaign, the winger was cut from the final England squad for the 2024 European Championship.
Even though he was included in the initial 33-man squad and even delivered an assist in a 3-0 friendly win over Bosnia-Herzegovina before the tournament, the City star was one of the seven players that were cut from the final squad by Gareth Southgate.
Some of the other players that were cut included James Maddison and Jarrad Branthwaite.
With England winning one and drawing two of their three games in the group stage, one pundit has shared a claim about why Grealish ended up not being part of the squad that travelled to Germany.
Gabby Agbonlahor shares why he thinks Jack Grealish was not included in the England squad
While assessing England’s efforts in the tournament so far on talkSPORT, Gabby Agbonlahor had this to say about some of the players Southgate didn’t put in the squad, including Grealish.
He said: “What I understand with Jack, Maddison, [Ben] Chilwell, all three of them are very close, all three of them like a few [drinks]. There’s a reason why he’s left them.
“They’re not bad eggs but is it because they’ve not the Harry Kanes where everything is football? They like to have a bit of fun. When Jack and Maddison were playing their best, he didn’t want to call up Jack.
“When Jack was one of the best players in the league at Aston Villa, he still wouldn’t call him up. Public pressure made Gareth pick Jack. So, there’s something there where it was a little bit of an excuse last season because he missed a bit of the season with injuries.”
Hopefully Southgate’s decision to not take Grealish was solely based on footballing reasons
This isn’t the first time Agbonlahor has shared his thoughts on Grealish’s omission from the England squad, as he said earlier this month that he was shocked by Southgate’s decision.
Even though the 28-year-old has proved in the past that he enjoys celebrating, as he did to a high degree after City won the Treble, we feel that the England manager should only take footballing factors into account when picking his squad rather than what certain players do away from the pitch.