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Wayne Rooney named the England player he would have dropped for Jack Grealish ahead of Euro 2024.
England are set to kick off their opening game of the European Championships when they take on Serbia on Sunday evening.
The Three Lions are among the favourites to win the tournament, with Southgate’s squad boasting the likes of Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka.
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Upon naming his 26 however, Southgate raised eyebrows by snubbing the likes of Grealish and James Maddison in favour of Cole Palmer, Eberechi Eze and Jarrod Bowen.
England and Manchester United legend Rooney claimed on the Overlap, courtesy of Sky Bet, that Grealish’s absence could be a mistake.
Rooney said: “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.”
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Bowen starred for West Ham last term, netting 20 goals and registering 10 assists across the campaign.
Meanwhile, Grealish, who cost City a £100million transfer fee, managed just three goals and three assists last season.
On the absences of Grealish and Maddison Southgate explained in a press conference last week: "All the players took the news really respectfully. Of course, all players will think they should be in and that's why they are top players.
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"They have that self-belief and mindset, but the fact is we have some players who have been playing extremely well in the league all season.
"We just felt other players had stronger seasons particularly in the last six months or so."
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Topics: England, Euro 2024, Jack Grealish, Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham
Chris Byfield