- Phillips has been a regular for England for several years under Gareth Southgate.
- However, a poor start on loan at West Ham left the England manager looking elsewhere.
- Will Manchester United need to pay more than £60m for Dan Ashworth?They are ruining business for Newcastle – listen to the podcast ‘Everything Kicked Off’
Manager Gareth Southgate is keeping a close eye on the performance of his three uncapped midfield players ahead of next month’s friendlies against Brazil and Belgium, amid concerns over the form of Kalvin Phillips.
As well as Manchester United teenager Koby Mainu, Everton’s James Garner and Fulham’s Harrison Reid are also being monitored, while West Ham’s James Ward-Prowse won the last of his 11 caps. Almost two years later, he still attracts Southgate’s attention.
Southgate has maintained his faith in Phillips throughout the season despite his limited appearances for Manchester City, with the 28-year-old remaining a key part of the manager’s plans. However, his performances since being loaned to West Ham last month are a cause for concern.
A mistake in the third minute of his West Ham debut gave him a goal against Bournemouth and ruled him out of the next game against Man United.
Phillips was then booked after coming on at half-time in Arsenal’s 6-0 win last week, and was sent off in last Saturday’s defeat at Nottingham Forest.
Southgate named Phillips as one of his four midfield players in the latest England squad, along with Declan Rice, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Henderson, in November last year, but England We are also considering other options in areas where we are not blessed with depth.
In addition to Phillips’ decline in form, Alexander-Arnold has been ruled out of Sunday’s Carabao Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea due to a knee injury and is not guaranteed to feature next month.
Southgate’s limited options could be good news for Henderson, who is certain to remain in the squad despite being booed by England fans in their last two matches against Australia and Malta at Wembley. It is believed that
The 33-year-old was criticized by some fans as hypocritical for previously moving to Saudi Arabia in pursuit of LBGT+ rights, but returned to Europe last month and has played four games in a row for new club Ajax. He is a starting pitcher.
Southgate has little time to experiment as the games against Brazil and Belgium will be England’s last games before the manager names him in his European Championship squad.
Mainu has not been selected for the first team and is expected to be called up by England Under-21s manager Lee Carsley for next month’s European Championship qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Luxembourg, but Garner and Reid are considered back-up options at this stage. .
Southgate also announced that Aaron Ramsdale and Sam Johnstone are not playing regularly for Arsenal and Crystal Palace respectively, while Nick Pope will be out until the end of next month at the earliest to recover, making Jordan a pick. There are also concerns about goalie options as Ford’s backup. From a dislocated shoulder.
Dean Henderson and James Trafford, who play for Palace and Burnley respectively, have both had difficult seasons, with Southgate considering a surprise call-up for Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland for the first time in five years. are doing.