Ian Wright questioned Gareth Southgate decision to leave on-loan Chelsea talent Conor Gallagher and several other in-form players out of the England squad.
Gallagher has had a fine start to his loan spell at Crystal Palace so far, having scored three goals and made two assists from nine games in the Premier League.
He also stole the spotlight last week with his man-of-the-match display in Palace’s win over Manchester City.
Wright is among pundits who have been impressed by Gallagher’s consistent performances at both West Brom and Palace.
Recently, he even insisted that Gallagher has made a very strong case for his inclusion at Chelsea.
RONALDO NEEDS TO STOP WHINING.
Unsurprisingly, Wright was baffled by Southgate’s decision not to include Gallagher and several other in-form players in his squad for the World Cup qualifiers.
“I’ve been there where form is ignored, and certain players are guaranteed spots,” the former England striker wrote on Twitter.
“It’s hard to take because there is nothing else you can do.
“I don’t know what [Fikayo] Tomori needs to do get in and get a chance.
“[Aaron] Cresswell, [Jarrod] Bowen, [Ben] White, Gallagher will all be gutted.”
Gallagher ‘unlucky’ not to make the cut, says Southgate
Southgate is clearly aware of Gallagher’s form, though. It seems that he just could not justify giving the former Chelsea academy player of the year a spot ahead of other options.
Although to be fair, this England side has a competitive midfield department. Southgate named six midfielders for the upcoming international break, including Gallagher’s Chelsea teammate Mason Mount.
“Emile [Smith-Rowe], Conor Gallagher, and Marc Guehi, in particular, are all playing very well with their clubs, but we’ve got depth,” the England boss said during a press conference on Thursday.
“To put those in we’ve got to leave some of these on the sheet out.
“I think it’s not a bad thing that we’re starting to get a very strong Under-21 team because you want that depth.”