ENGLAND DUO SNUB SOUTHGATE
GARETH SOUTHGATE defended Mason Greenwood and Callum Hudson-Odoi yesterday after the pair rejected England call-ups. The Three Lions boss — who has axed Jadon Sancho from his squad — revealed that Manchester United striker Greenwood, after talks with his family, believes he isn’t ready for a senior call-up. And in another snub, Southgate confirmed the FA wanted to select Hudson-Odoi for Under 21 duty, but the Chelsea forward — who has three senior caps — does not want to be considered for Lee Carsley’s squad. Hudson-Odoi is being chased by Ghana, while Jamaica are trying to lure Greenwood. Jude Bellingham and Greenwood were left out of last month’s squad after discussions with the players’ families. But Southgate insisted it is not the case that Greenwood and Bellingham are dictating when they play for England. ‘If I did feel they were picking and choosing it would, in a few months, probably be reflected in our selection,’ he said. Southgate is adamant that Greenwood wants an international career with England, despite the fact that the 20-year-old has not been selected at all this season after withdrawing from the Euros squad last summer with injury. He said: ‘In September, John McDermott (FA technical director) and myself went to United and had a good chat with Mason and his family and we agreed we would park this until next year.’ The England boss, who named Conor Gallagher, Emile Smith Rowe, Marc Guehi and Tino Livramento as potential future call-ups, added: ‘Greenwood is young enough that there is time. ‘He wants to play for England, he is clear about that. It’s not that he doesn’t want to be with us.’ But Southgate suggested the situation could benefit from Greenwood publicly stating his position. His appraisal of the Hudson-Odoi situation was less encouraging, however, as he indicated the 20-year-old Chelsea star did not want to be considered for the Under 21s. ‘He feels he would be best served staking a case for the team with Chelsea. I think he has a better chance of impressing us if he is with the Under 21s as well, frankly,’ said the England boss.
Sancho and Jesse Lingard were the two big-name casualties from Southgate’s latest squad. Sancho has struggled for game time since joining United for £73million in the summer and Southgate added: ‘We can support and back them, but you cannot do that forever. There has to be a point where you say: we have to bring in players who are playing regularly. There is no point carrying lads if we don’t think we can use them. ‘He has a challenge at the moment, but I am sure that will be a short-term thing. He will be able to force his way back in.’