Wayne Rooney says he would have taken Jack Grealish to Euro 2024 and reveals which player he would have axed instead

Manchester City winger Grealish was cut from the squad when Southgate announced his 26-man team for the competition in Germany this summer, much to the surprise of many. Even Grealish's own Three Lions co-stars were reportedly shocked by the manager's decision and one senior player is said to have approached him for an explanation.

Instead, the likes of Chelsea sensation Cole Palmer, Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze and West Ham attacker Jarrod Bowen were included in the squad after doing a better job than Grealish when it comes to impressing Southgate during the 2023-24 campaign. However, Rooney believes the City winger should be there, citing Bowen as the one he would drop in favour of the ex-Aston Villa hero.

"Grealish, I would have taken him." Rooney said on The Overlappodcast ahead of the tournament. "Bowen on the right, they have Saka, Cole Palmer, Foden could play out there. I would have taken Grealish instead of Bowen."

Southgate will hope he does not come to regret his decision to leave Grealish out of the squad as England prepare to embark on their Euro 2024 journey. The beaten Euro 2020 finalists' campaign begins with a game against Serbia before they meet Denmark and Slovenia.