Gareth Southgate slammed over Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish England issue

Former Premier League manager Graeme Souness has claimed that Chelsea star Raheem Sterling is ‘more dangerous’ than England teammate Jack Grealish after he was snubbed by England manager Gareth Southgate for the fifth successive time.

The Blues forward was once again left out of the Three Lions squad despite being one of Chelsea’s top-performing stars over the start of the season. It means the star will have to stay at Cobham with manager Mauricio Pochettino once again in order to keep his fitness up over the international break, where England have gotten off to a good start by beating Malta 2-0.

They still need to face North Macedonia, with Cole Palmer already having made his senior debut after he replaced Marcus Rashford with 30 minutes left against Malta. But for Sterling, it’s a difficult pill to swallow given that the stars keeping him out of the squad have hardly shown their quality.

Rashford’s 60-minute stint earlier this week looked devoid of any real chances, with the Manchester United star out of form this season, and Jack Grealish didn’t even feature on the pitch. For the Chelsea star, his five goals and two assists so far this season highlights his sharp uptick in form but it could all mean nothing by next summer.

With just one more international break between now and the Euros kicking off, the England boss was quick to explain his decision to leave out the 28-year-old, with him confirming that he’s not entirely out of the squad just yet. He said: “The door is 100% open not only for Raheem but also other players who aren’t in this squad.

“We don’t need to know about his quality, his personality. He is a crucial part of the journey we’ve been on. It’s an area of the pitch where we have as much competition as anywhere.

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“Bowen has started the season well. Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer are doing well. It’s a changing landscape there. We used to not have wingers, that’s why we used wing-backs in Russia. We have a lot of depth in those areas now, that’s what people need to understand.”

In a piece for the Daily Mail, Souness highlighted the fear factor that Sterling will bring at international tournaments, and that any player coming up against him would rather play against Grealish instead. He said: “I read Simon Jordan’s comments regarding Raheem Sterling on these pages this week, and his belief that the Chelsea winger has justifiably been left out of the England squad on form.

“OK, let’s look at it a different way. If you’re a full back, would you rather play against Sterling or Jack Grealish? I think 10 out of 10 would rather play against Grealish.

“Sterling is more dangerous than him. Defenders are terrified of pace and directness. Grealish threatens to go down the line, does a couple of stepovers and then cuts inside and plays the ball square nearly every time. Sterling goes at you and, as a defender, you’re praying you have a team-mate covering you.

“We’re seeing less and less of Grealish at Manchester City, and more of Jeremy Doku. Would you want to play against Doku? No, because he’s more like Sterling.

“That’s a tremendous option to have if you’re Gareth Southgate. Surely, he must have watched Sterling’s performance in Chelsea’s 4-4 draw with City and altered his thinking? He was fabulous, sprinting at people, doing the hard yards – which can be so easily overlooked – and showing a real determination not to lose, and that can be infectious.

“And by the way, that game, I loved every minute. If you’re watching that abroad, you won’t be buying any packages to watch German, Spanish or Italian football. This was the real deal – top players, wintery conditions, playing the game the right way. It wasn’t a 4-4 laced with error, it was football of the highest quality.”

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