With Gareth Southgate having named a 33-man squad for this summer’s Euros, we take a look at four players who missed out on an England call-up.
From Ezri Konsa to Harvey Barnes to Danny Ings plus countless other players, there are several English players bemusing their lack of inclusion in the Euro 2020 squad, as we take a look at four players who perhaps deserved a call-up for the provisional squad at a minimum.
Karl Darlow (Newcastle United)
Having impressed for much of this season for Newcastle United after Martin Dubravka missed the opening half of this season with a heel injury, it is a shame to see Karl Darlow’s improved performances go to waste because he would of made a decent replacement for Nick Pope.
Darlow’s statistics for this season also holds up well because he has often been the highest ranked goalkeeper in stats out of those who played less than 30 league games, plus he was the best overall English goalkeeper in aerial battles as well as second overall in clearances.
It is therefore a shame that he hasn’t at least been handed an opportunity in the provisional squad because he has done enough to justify a call-up, especially given that he has kept Dubravka honest in the battle for the no.1 role on Tyneside once the Slovakia international had recovered.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Manchester United)
Having enjoyed a consistent at right-back for Manchester United this season, it is a huge shame to not see Aaron Wan-Bissaka selected in the squad and especially if we consider that he has been fairly consistent across all defensive stats.
Add in the fact that only Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw managed to occasionally better him out of Utd’s defence, it is hard to argue for him to not be selected ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold who might be more versatile but has struggled to make any impact in the national team under Southgate’s reins.
I therefore am disappointed to see that Wan-Bissaka has been snubbed when he has been more consistent defensively, plus the 23-year-old has the wing-back ability needed to cause issues up the right flank.
James Maddison (Leicester City)
Midfield certainly has proven to be competitive and although Southgate has gone for a strong variety of versatile midfielders, you have to bear a thought for Leicester’s James Maddison who misses out.
Maddison has once again been incredibly consistent for Brendan Rogers’ Foxes this season in terms of his attacking midfield ability, yet he has endured fitness issues particularly with a hip injury in recent months so it is kind of expected that he would of missed out due to injury when fitness reliability is key in major tournaments.
Nevertheless, it is still a massive shame to not see Maddison selected for the Euros given his attacking skills and has been one of England’s best midfielders in domestic competitions, even counting for his recent injury issues which makes his absence slightly disappointing to take.
Patrick Bamford (Leeds United)
Having impressed for Leeds with 17 goals and seven assists in the Premier League this season, Patrick Bamford surely had done enough to earn a first senior call-up yet he has been ignored despite English striker stats putting him as the second highest goal scorer and third best playmaker.
Now those stats alone should more than justify a call-up at least for the provisional squad because for all of his previous top-flight struggles, he has definitely been impressive this season under Marcelo Bielsa compared to say Raheem Sterling who hasn’t exactly had a glorious season by his standards.
Bamford should therefore feel hard done by to have been snubbed by Southgate, who should of at least given him a chance in the provisional squad if not gone bold and dropped Sterling for him because the stats alone definitely would justify selecting Bamford ahead of Sterling.
It will be interesting though to see whether Southgate ends up regretting his decision because although squad consistency is key heading into a major tournament, so is form and I personally feel like Bamford deserved the nod ahead of Sterling despite his international inexperience.
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