I offer something different to England’s other players, and Gareth Southgate should’ve picked me for Euro 2024 | OneFootball

Manchester City’s Jack Grealish has admitted that he felt as though he deserved a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the summer’s European Championship.

The 28-year-old was axed from the 26-man England squad that travelled to Germany and reached the final of the European Championship this summer, as Gareth Southgate omitted Grealish for the tournament despite including the forward in an initial 33-man training squad.

The Manchester City star has made 36 previous appearances for the Three Lions, and featured at both the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and rescheduled European Championship in 2021 for England.

Grealish made only 26 starts for Pep Guardiola’s side during the campaign ahead of the tournament in Germany, with the forward failing to feature during the closing weeks of the season for Manchester City.

The 28-year-old didn’t feature during the FA Cup Final defeat to Manchester United at Wembley Stadium, or against Fulham, Tottenham or West Ham, as Manchester City won a record-breaking fourth consecutive Premier League title.

The Birmingham-born star had been linked with a potential exit from the Etihad Stadium following his omission from the England squad for the European Championship, with Grealish now opening up about the disappointment of his exclusion from Southgate’s squad.

Speaking ahead of Manchester City’s penultimate pre-season clash of their tour of the United States, Grealish offered an honest assessment and reaction to being excluded from Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the concluded European Championships in Germany.

“No, not really,” Grealish responded, when asked whether he felt as though he deserved to be left out of the Three Lions camp. “Because obviously you know, myself, I felt like I should have been in the squad.

“I’m sure every person that didn’t get picked in the squad, whether that’s myself or any of the other players, would’ve thought the same. If I sit here and say I felt like I shouldn’t have been in the squad you’re going to be thinking, ‘What’s this guy like? What’s he thinking?!'”

He continued, “So, of course, I thought I should’ve been in the squad. I felt like I offer something different to players in the England squad. But listen, it is what it is. Like I said, it was the hardest moment for me as a footballer.

“I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my career, but yeah, it was difficult. But like I say, I’m going to try and use that as motivation now going forward into this season. And hopefully I can prove some people wrong.”

Grealish has been involved in Manchester City’s first two opening friendlies against both Celtic and AC Milan, with the 28-year-old part of a touring squad which includes only a handful of first-team players.