It should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone who knows the English football press that Trent Alexander-Arnold’s (possible) omission from the euro squad caused the biggest uproar among social media experts.
The player that neutral journalists and experts often refer to as “Trent” should be a mess for Gareth Southgate’s roster for this year’s summer tournament. The fact that Southgate can now choose 26 names instead of the usual 23 for the Three Lions – plus Alexander-Arnold’s admittedly improved form recently – only fueled that argument.
But there is no denying that England are piled with options for the right-back. Alexander-Arnold is hardly alone when it comes to getting the nudge from Southgate when it is actually being ignored.
Manchester United fans will rightly feel that Aaron Wan-Bissaka has had a much more consistent season than his Liverpool counterpart. He shows much more resilience in defense and an admirable improvement in attack. He didn’t go through a bad season like Alexander-Arnold, although the arguments of choosing Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier and Reece James all have their merits.
But Wan-Bissaka’s name doesn’t even appear in the picture unless Southgate does an U-turn on Boris Johnson by the day the big team is revealed on Tuesday next week (May 25).
It will likely be a blow to Wan-Bissaka the day before he faces Villarreal in Gdansk in his first grand final for United. But that’s the situation with England right now, the 23-year-old won’t be alone if his phone stays silent in the coming days.
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There is a very real chance that Mason Greenwood will also be overlooked by the national team, despite having scored eight goals in 13 games since March 21.
Greenwood has shown great adaptability by making the right position at United his own for the past two seasons, so the club’s inability to land Jadon Sancho (or an alternative in his position) last summer was not exposed either got bad. There is real debate now about Greenwood’s best natural position despite growing up as the # 9 safer.
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On the subject of matching items
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On the subject of matching items
Oddly enough, it might be Greenwood’s versatility that is casting doubt on his place in England. His misconduct alongside Phil Foden last summer, who violated the Covid-19 protocols during a trip to England in Iceland, should certainly no longer be included in the equation.
It may simply be that Southgate selects top scorer Danny Ings or Dominic Calvert-Lewin to replace Harry Kane in role # 9 while he is blessed with many wingers.
Sancho, Raheem Sterling, and Marcus Rashford head this line, while Foden, Jack Grealish, and Mason Mount are considered for their ability to play in wide areas as well. Greenwood may be eclectic, but so are many others.
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It’s a little strange that neither Wan-Bissaka nor Greenwood have received more praise at United this season.
Together they have turned a problem area for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – where Diogo Dalot and Jesse Lingard made the first decisions before the 2019/20 campaign – into an area of great strength. The right finally caught up with the left at Old Trafford, and that’s thanks to Wan-Bissaka and Greenwood, who seem to have developed a good understanding.
Perhaps they are victims of their own constancy and expectations are high for players 19 and 23 years old respectively to continue their remarkable improvement.
And maybe some United fans don’t care if two or more of their stars miss out on international recognition this summer.
But the players themselves definitely deserve to compete at Europe’s top table, both for the club and for the country.
