Jack Grealish is not at Euro 2024, with the England winger having a summer off instead.
The Manchester City star failed to make it into Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad and isn’t playing in Germany.
Grealish will have the summer off Credit: Getty
The former Aston Villa playmaker was part of the initial 33-man squad ahead of the tournament in Germany.
He even played in a friendly against Bosnia at St James’ Park and set up England’s second goal in a 3-0 win, but he didn’t make the plane.
Why is Grealish not at Euro 2024?
Southgate made the decision to leave Grealish out of his final 26-man squad for the European Championship.
Grealish – who mainly operates as a left-winger – has been usurped in the pecking order by England’s other options on the left, who have contributed to more goals across the season than Grealish.
Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon and Grealish’s Man City teammate Phil Foden both hit double figures for goals and assists across all competitions, while Grealish hasn’t scored in 2024.
The flurry of form from Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze also played a part in Grealish’s omission.
Of course, the 28-year-old had several injuries to contend with across the season, which limited his impact, and he’s missed out.
Speaking about his decision to exclude Grealish, Southgate said: “The fact is we’ve got some players who have been playing extremely well all season in the league and we just feel other players have had stronger seasons – particularly in the past six months or so.
Southgate has decided to go in a different direction from Grealish Credit: Getty
“We saw some fantastic performances the other night, which underlined some of that, and in the attacking area of the pitch, we’re blessed with a lot of options and they’re all slightly different.
“Jack [Grealish] would have provided us with something different as well and they’ve been tough calls.
“They’re calls we’ve gone over and over and over as a group of staff to try to be fair and to try to use the right rationale.
“We back our decisions but we recognise we could have gone a different route. The boys are big characters, fabulous team-mates and great boys to work with.
“It’s sad to have to deliver that news to them.”
Grealish has yet to publicly say anything about his exclusion from the England squad, but former Manchester United and Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic claimed his omission was good news for his native Serbia.
Many of his England teammates were also surprised to see him left out, with one reportedly approaching Southgate over his absence.
Grealish was said to be stunned he was left out Credit: Getty Images
Despite this, Grealish will still no doubt watch and support England at the European Championship before preparing for the new season.
talkSPORT’s Gabby Agbonlahor believes it was the wrong decision to not bring Grealish following England’s laboured displays at the Euros so far.
He said: “Watching the two games, we’ve been playing Phil Foden on the left, not a left winger. You’ve got Jack Grealish’s experience at tournaments as well. We know he’s going to take players on.
“He’s going to want to get on the ball, win fouls, get into tight positions and receive the ball on the half turn. He’s a natural left winger. He’s been playing there most of his career. Why would you leave him at home and put a new player, a No.10, on the left wing? It’s very strange for me.”
When asked if he’s spoken to Grealish, Agbonlahor added: “No, but he’s obviously disappointed. He’s away on holiday and rightly so, the players who didn’t get called up, they’re enjoying their summer.
“I’m sure he’ll be looking to start pre-season well, get back into that Man City side. He’ll look at it as he wants to go and play in the World Cup.
“He’ll be upset, but I’m sure he’ll be supporting the team.”