Marcus Rashford has been told his place in England’s Euro 2024 squad is “in danger” due to the wealth of options at Gareth Southgate’s disposal.
Rashford has been ever present for England since making his debut back in 2016 and has featured at four major tournaments so far. However, former Chelsea star Florent Malouda feels Rashford’s recent form and the emergence of Cole Palmer could see him miss this summer’s Euros.
Malouda believes Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, Jack Grealish and Palmer are all ahead of Rashford in the pecking order, while he also criticised the Manchester United star for failing to “work hard enough” this season..
“Cole Palmer has to be in the England squad for the tournament,” Malouda told Gambling Zone. “I’ve watched him a lot this season and I have seen a player that is full of confidence, who wants to take responsibility on the pitch and who improves his teammates.
“He can play on both the left and right – at Chelsea, we’ve seen him move around the pitch with a lot of freedom to combine with his teammates. Marcus Rashford’s position in the squad is in danger. I think Gareth Southgate will have to make a big decision about it.
“I don’t think it’s a question of quality with Rashford, we can see his talent, but he hasn’t been consistent this season for Manchester United and you need players going into tournaments in top form because they have to produce every three days.
“Off the ball, Rashford doesn’t work hard enough. We’ve all seen the clips of him not tracking back and covering his man for Manchester United this season. I really like Jack Grealish. I think he could be a great option on the left for England.
England boss Gareth Southgate has a wealth of options at his disposal (
Getty Images)
“We know what he can do going forward, but he also works incredibly hard off the ball and has the hunger to do the defensive work. When you look at guys like Foden and Saka, who will both be included, then Jack offers something a little different and he would give England better balance.”
And Southgate admitted last month that Rashford’s place is far from secure, namechecking Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon as another contender. “He has a battle on his hands with Gordon, with Palmer, with Foden, so we’ve got big competition for places in that area,” Southgate said of Rashford.
“What happens while players are with their clubs is club matters, because they know the full story. Obviously, we observe everything, we don’t miss anything. I don’t say behaviours off the field are irrelevant, because clearly they’re not. But the key thing is we are mainly focusing on the performances on the field. He’s got big competition.”
