The truth about Mason Greenwood, Gareth Southgate and the Three Lions
The omission of Manchester United young sensation in the latest England team shortlist by manager Gareth Southgate has left many amazed considering the brilliant form of the 20-year-old currently.
Greenwood was notably omitted from the England squad for upcoming qualifiers against Albania and San Marino, alongside his club teammates Jadon Sancho and Jesse Lingard as the list was released on Wednesday by Southgate.
The hot form of the 20-year-old has seen him missing only one of United ten Premier League games so far this season with four goals to his credit.
The Manchester United academy graduate who joined the England senior team in 2020 has not played for England since his debut appearance against Iceland when he was sent home with Manchester City’s Phil Foden for breaking Covid regulations by inviting two women back to their hotel room.
Meanwhile, as eyebrows were raise following Greenwood omission from recently released national team list, Southgate has now clarified the current situation, insisting the United forward remains in his long-term plans.
‘We had a discussion before the camp in September and we came to an agreement,’ Southgate said.
‘John McDermott [the FA’s 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, basically. We would leave the autumn games.
‘If he establishes himself in Manchester United’s team then he is going to be very close to an England squad or an England team so he recognises that.
‘He wants to play for England. He is clear about that. We are not not picking Mason because we don’t think he’s good enough or we are not happy with what he requested. We are totally understanding of that and we are happy to wait.
‘Also we have seen lots of youth development and this is his and his family’s one and only chance, so they are understandably more cautious than we might be. We believe these boys can be very big players for England in the long term and we don’t want to get it wrong in the short term.’
Similarly, Southgate revealed also that Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham requested to be stood down from England duty last month with Callum Hudson-Odoi snubbing a call-up from the Under-21 side.
‘I would understand that [the notion of picking and choosing] if we were talking about older players,’ Southgate said.
‘I cannot talk as much about Callum because we would like him to be with 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.
‘With the other two boys, these are young player development issues. We have to think about their physical development. Jude, in particular … for him to have had a couple of weeks to recharge was really important.’
