GARETH’S GAZZA
Foden, Grealish, Maddison, race is on to be...
JACK GREALISH is the creative talent England need to build their European Championship hopes around. Just ask any Aston Villa fan. The trouble is that Leicester supporters will say the same thing about James Maddison, while the Manchester City faithful will point out that a proven winner such as 2017 Under-17 world champion Phil Foden is ready to come of age.
Meanwhile, West Ham fans might offer 2018 World Cup star Jesse Lingard as an alternative and Gareth Southgate will probably steer the talk round to Chelsea’s Mason Mount.
That is why, with the help of assistant Steve Holland, the England manager is determined to go the extra mile to finalise the creative department of his team before the summer.
Southgate said: “Everybody watches their own team every week – and that is why fans will always push their own players and feel they are the best.
“But we are watching everything. We have that broader view of how everybody is performing at a given time and a bit more understanding of the individuals.
“That is a big v part of our jobs – we have to make sure we get the right people in that squad to be able to be successful.
“My wife would say that I am watching too much football at the moment, but the interesting thing is that the games have been spread across the week. There has never been a better opportunity to track our players.”
Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse is another name to add to the mix.
And if you are already watching Jadon Sancho at Borussia Dortmund, why not keep an eye on Jude Bellingham?
Southgate seems committed to a 3-4-3 system.
Raheem Sterling is set to play one side of Harry Kane up front and Sancho or Marcus Rashford will complete the trio, with Harvey Barnes facing a race for fitness to snatch a squad place. Perhaps one can even emerge as the new Paul Gascoigne – still the ultimate in Southgate’s eyes.
He said: “There were some fantastic players that I played with for England, such as Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes.
“But for me Gascoigne, in terms of talent and ability, was the best. “All these players should take a comparison with him as a compliment for sure.”