Three of the current team won’t travel to France
As we are all probably aware by now, Roy Hodgson has selected his 26-man provisional England squad for this summer’s European Championships in France.
However, three of those players will not make the cut for the final 23-man squad and here is five who I think could be part of the three to miss out on the Euro 2016 experience.
1. Danny Drinkwater
Danny Drinkwater has had a remarkable season, hardly putting a foot wrong as he played a pivotal role in the Leicester City team that won the Premier League title.
However, I think he may be dropped due to his lack of international experience or simply because there are better quality midfielders who have been selected.
But Hodgson might think otherwise. The only real holding midfielder apart from Drinkwater is Eric Dier, so the Three Lions’ boss may take the Foxes’ man as back up to Dier.
2. Fabian Delph
For me, Fabian Delph simply hasn’t played enough minutes at Manchester City to warrant a place in this England set-up.
He’s hardly set the Etihad Stadium alight since his move from Aston Villa, perhaps because he has struggled notoriously with repetitive hamstring injuries.
Much like Drinkwater, he doesn’t have a lot of international experience and there are better quality midfielders ahead of him.
3. Jordan Henderson
Jordan Henderson was one of the best midfielders in the Premier League when Liverpool almost won the title during the 2013/14 season.
But since then he has faded away, struggling with an ankle injury and perhaps the pressures of following in the footsteps of Steven Gerrard as the Reds’ captain.
Similarly to Delph, he has suffered too much with injuries meaning he hasn’t played a lot of minutes this campaign.
I do think Henderson is good enough to be in future England squads, just not this one, as it has come at the wrong time for the former Sunderland man.
4. Andros Townsend/Jack Wilshere
This is a strange one, because one of them, both of them or none of them will miss out on this major tournament.
They were both surprise selections really; Townsend because he had only played half a season with Newcastle United and Wilshere because of his injury history.
But I can’t see any of them missing out because Hodgson clearly likes their style of play, he believes they fit in well with his philosophy and how he wants his England team to perform.
5. Marcus Rashford
I completely agree with England’s under 21 manager Gareth Southgate, Rashford’s form during the back end of the season couldn’t be ignored.
However, that doesn’t mean I think he should go to the Euros.
Firstly, I think he’s too young and he hasn’t played enough first team football at Manchester United.
Don’t get me wrong, I am all for giving young players a chance. After all, if he’s good enough to lead United’s strike force then he must be doing something right.
Secondly, I just think he needs at least a full Premier League campaign under his belt before he becomes a regular England international.
Plus there is too much talent ahead of him at the moment: We’ve got Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy who battled for the Golden Boot, Daniel Sturridge who is world class on his day and Wayne Rooney, who is our captain and a presence that must represent this country for as long as he possibly can.
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