'What was he thinking?!' - England boss Gareth Southgate torn to shreds over decision to take injured Luke Shaw to Euro 2024 with Man Utd left-back nowhere to be seen again in training
Speaking on X (formerly Twitter), England fans made their feelings clear on the matter with one @jmscant writing: "Dreadful decision from Southgate. What was he thinking?" While @CarlosNFFC added: "Taking 1 injured LB was another stroke of genius from Southgate."
@b58388 also said: "Why did he go? Makes no sense." As @StretfordEnd_10 directed his anger at the England boss: "Some people will say it isn't Southgate's fault."
WHAT SOURCES ARE SAYING
A source close to Shaw has told The Telegraph:“Luke’s not played for more than four months. Even if he plays, he’s not going to be anywhere near fit enough and there’s a real chance he will pick something else up.”
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England have started the first two games of Euro 2024 against Serbia and Denmark with Kieran Trippier at left-back. However, with the Newcastle United ace naturally right-footed, they have lacked balance and any kind of threat down the left wing which has severely hindered the balance in the squad.
With Shaw yet to return to full training, it appears inevitable that England will be without him for Tuesday's clash against Slovenia. Whether or not Southgate opts to use Trippier there again, remains to be seen. Other makeshift options include Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa, Liverpool's Joe Gomez or even Arsenal star Bukayo Saka, who started as a left-back in the early days of his career.