England manager Gareth Southgate has been blasted by pundit Graeme Souness for his decision regarding Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish.
Graeme Souness, a former Premier League manager, has asserted that Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling is ‘more dangerous’ than his England teammate Jack Grealish, especially after being overlooked by England manager Gareth Southgate for the fifth consecutive time.
Despite Sterling’s stellar performances for Chelsea at the beginning of the season, he was once again omitted from the Three Lions squad. This exclusion means he will continue training at Cobham under manager Mauricio Pochettino to maintain his fitness during the international break, where England has started by defeating Malta 2-0.
Souness, in a piece for the Daily Mail, emphasised Sterling’s intimidating presence in international tournaments, suggesting that players facing him would prefer to play against Grealish, considering the fear factor Sterling brings.
“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,” Souness stated to the Daily Mail.
Sterling has four goals and an assist in 12 league appearances this season. Meanwhile Grealish has only started three times in seven league appearances and in that time he’s managed just one assist.
The Manchester City winger is struggling to get into Pep Guardiola’s team ever since Jeremy Doku was introduced.
Gareth Southgate continues to call up players who are out of form for their club. That’s a formula the Three Lions mustn’t rely on in the summer when the Euro 2024 tournament gets underway.