Jamie Carragher has criticized a specific decision by Gareth Southgate regarding his Euro 2024 squad
The England manager initially named 33 players in his provisional squad, but had to cut seven players ahead of the deadline on Friday 7 June
Before Southgate made the official announcement, more absentees were known following reports from a number of respected figures
journalist James Maddison was the first player to miss out and he released a lengthy statement saying he was “devastated”
It was later revealed that Curtis Jones, James Trafford, Harry Maguire, Jack Grealish, Jarell Quansah and Jarrad Branthwaite had all been sacked
Southgate has a number of difficult decisions to make, with Maguire being left out after struggling to recover from injury
This means John Stones, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi, Joe Gomez and Lewis Dunk are England’s centre-back options
But the decision not to recruit Branthwaite after a sublime breakthrough season with Everton has made many people uncomfortable
Former England defender Carragher is among those who believe the 21-year-old should have been on the plane
He went so far as to describe Branthwaite’s England as ‘present and future’
Related to He is England’s present and future
” Branthwaite made 35 appearances in the Premier League last season and won Player of the Season at Everton
The Carlisle United academy product made his debut debut for England in the 3-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina at St James’ Park, replacing Guehi in the 62nd minute, England face Iceland in the final friendly at Wembley on Friday, before facing Serbia in the opening match Euro 2024 on June 16 at Gelsenkirchen
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