GARETH Southgate says selecting his latest England squad was “complicated” as he looks towards Euro 2024, with no Cherries players making the cut.
Dominic Solanke, whose only England cap came in 2017, looked to have a great shout of being included, having netted 19 Premier League goals this season.
Only Erling Haaland, Cole Palmer and Alexander Isak scored more than Cherries’ star striker, but it was not enough to get him a spot in the 33-man long list for upcoming friendlies against Bosnia & Herzegovina and Iceland.
Instead, Brentford’s Ivan Toney has been selected.
There was also some recent talk around Lewis Cook potentially being in with a chance of adding to his one England cap, after a stellar season in central midfield. But he too has been overlooked, with the likes of Curtis Jones and Adam Wharton among those preferred.
The final squad of 26 for Euro 2024 is expected to be named on June 8.
Southgate was not asked about Solanke's omission specifically, but discussing his squad selection, the Three Lions boss said a number of injury issues throughout the group made things difficult.
“This has been as complicated a group as I can remember picking,” said Southgate.
“I think you can take too many forwards and you can have too many options in certain areas of the pitch.
“With forwards you’ve got to give them love and make them feel special.
“If you’ve got too many, that can also be complicated.”
Asked what sort of squad he was looking to build, Southgate added: “We have good options in all areas of the pitch, some areas more experienced than others.
“We need flexibility. We need players that can provide different skillsets, different attributes, physically, leadership.
“We’ve picked a very technical squad, in the main.”
England face group games against Serbia, Denmark and Slovenia next month.
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