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Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has questioned Gareth Southgate over his decision to omit in-form Jadon Sancho from the latest England squad.
The Manchester United winger has not been included in Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions squad for this month’s Nations League games against Italy and Germany.
This will be the final international break before the season pauses for the FIFA World Cup later this year.
Southgate's team selection has raised many eyebrows and Ferdinand feels Sancho has every right to be disappointed over his omission.
The former Manchester United defender has claimed that the England manager should be picking players on the basis of their form. He told BT Sport, as quoted by The Manchester Evening News:
"The only real surprise there was the amount of players that aren't playing regular football at their clubs, given the stance Gareth had when he got the job on picking players on form."
"Jadon Sancho will be one player, where we look at that squad and think, ‘I’ve done more than what’s expected of me as a winger in terms of output numbers-wise this season and I’m doing better than other players.’ He can feel disgruntled. That squad is a lot what we’d expect."
He added:
"You gain trust through performance. This England team have gone and done things that our generation never got near doing and that counts for something. I understand the odd player coming in when they haven’t been playing at club level, but when you’ve got more than the one."
Ferdinand has claimed that Southgate has even picked players who do not play regularly for their clubs and that is concerning.
"I’d look at it as a player, I’d be concerned. I’ve been in squads where players have come in and haven’t played for long periods and haven’t hit the form as they’re used too."
He added:
"I’m thinking, I hope you get more minutes by the time the World Cup comes because I don’t want you coming in rusty, I want you ready to play and in motion with momentum, which is key."
Three Manchester United players have made the latest England squad
Manchester United have three players in the latest England squad in the form of Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Dean Henderson (who is currently out on loan at Nottingham Forest).
Maguire and Shaw being named in the Three Lions setup is questionable considering both of them have lost their places in the starting XI.
Meanwhile, in-form Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford have both been overlooked by Gareth Southgate, although Rashford's omission could be due to a minor injury.
Sancho had an underwhelming debut season for Manchester United last time out following his £72.9m move to Old Trafford.
However, the fleet-footed winger has picked up his game this season and has three goals in eight games this campaign.
