Troy Deeney has hit out at the Marcus Rashford’s inclusion in the England squad, stating that Aston Villa teammate Jacob Ramsey was more deserving.
Thomas Tuchel named his first England squad on Friday morning – a selection which threw up a number of surprises including a recall for on-loan Man United star Rashford.
Since joining Villa, Rashford has failed to score in nine appearances, but has contributed four assists and put in some much-improved displays compared to the first half of the season at Old Trafford.
Joining Harry Kane as an attacking option, Tuchel also named Dominic Solanke despite his recent struggles for form and fitness – a decision that Deeney doesn’t have a problem with – even if he did take issue with Rashford’s inclusion.
Speaking on White and Jordan, Deeney said: “That’s fair.
“Obviously he’s trying to get back up to speed and it’s hard mid-season when you’re trying to catch up and everyone is in full flow.
“I think he has to be in the squad though because as we know, there’s not a deep pool of number nines.
“Potentially that’s why Marcus has gone in there to be the second or third no.9.
“I’m not (having that), to be honest with you.
“I want to make this very clear; this is not about Marcus Rashford. It’s not about him.
“It’s about the other guys who have been working week in, week out and putting in stellar performances and then being overlooked because of the name of Marcus Rashford.
“Players like Morgan Gibbs-White or even Jacob Ramsey at Aston Villa, he’s been excellent.”
Elsewhere Tuchel made the big decision to recall Jordan Henderson and Reece James to the Three Lions’ fold.
He also handed Arsenal full-back Myles Lewis-Skelly and Newcastle defender Dan Burn their first international call-ups.
But it was some of the other exclusions that really got fans talking.
Of course the German boss was limited to naming just 26 players for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, meaning that some high-profile and deserving stars failed to make the cut.
Conor Gallagher, Angel Gomes and Jack Grealish are some of the players who have been left out of the squad.
However it’s the in-form trio of Djed Spence, Morgan Gibbs White and Ethan Nwaneri who have captured fans’ attention after failing to make the 26-man squad.
Spence has been one of the Premier League’s most in-form full-backs in recent months, showing his quality in a new position after lining up at left-back for Ange Postecoglou.
But with Lewis-Skelly, Burn, Tino Livramento, Reece James and Kyle Walker who can play at both left and right-back, the former Middlesbrough starlet has missed out.
Gibbs-White has been the beating heart of Nuno Espirito Santo‘s Nottingham Forest side – a team who are sitting third in the Premier League table in partial thanks to the midfielder’s five goals and six assists.
His hopes were dashed due to the inclusion of Henderson, Jude Bellingham, Curtis Jones, Eberechi Eze, Declan Rice and Morgan Rogers in central areas.
As for Nwaneri, the 17-year-old has cemented his status as arguably the hottest talent in English football right now after scoring eight goals in 28 games for Arsenal and seamlessly replacing Bukayo Saka on the right flank for Mikel Arteta.
But even with Saka ruled out of this squad, the inclusion of Jarrod Bowen, Phil Foden, Anthony Gordon and Rashford on the left and right wing have seen him miss out.
Reflecting on the decisions, fans took to social media.
One fan wrote: “Very surprised that Djed Spence has not been included in England’s squad. He fully deserves to be with his performances over the last few months.”
A second supporter said: “Honestly Djed Spence has been robbed… been England’s best performing fullback last couple months.”
Another fan wrote: “Morgan Gibbs-White has 4 goals and 6 assists in his last 14 Premier League games. If that doesn’t get you in the England squad ahead of Jordan Henderson then what will.”
“Morgan Gibbs White should be in every England squad,” said another.
A fifth fan said: “Not calling up Ethan Nwaneri is crazy.”
However another was more understanding of the decision, saying: “Ethan Nwaneri not being call up is very understandable. There are many players ahead of him, like Foden, Palmer, Bellingham etc.
Tuchel’s first game in charge will be against Albania on Friday, March 21.
The Three Lions will then take on Latvia on Monday, March 24.
Both fixtures will be live on talkSPORT.
