England stars shocked by Jack Grealish omission as senior player approached Gareth Southgate to explain his decision to squad

Manchester City star Grealish was a high-profile name cut from England's final Euro 2024 squad on Thursday, with former captain Harry Maguire another noteworthy casualty due to injury. Now, The Telegraphreports one senior Three Lions player spoke to Southgate to try and understand the decision to drop Grealish and explain it to team-mates, while others rallied round the 28-year-old.

The report adds that Grealish, who was said to be 'stunned and upset' by the news, did not have the best season for City but had hoped he had done enough to convince Southgate he deserved to play for his country at the Euros. It will be a matter of time whether or not this hurts England's chances of winning the tournament in Germany.

On Thursday, Southgate explained his decision to leave out the former Aston Villa man - who scored just three goals and bagged one assist in 20 Premier League games for City this season.

He said: “In the attacking positions we’re blessed with a lot of options and [James Maddison] and Jack [Grealish] give us something different. They were tough calls, but we back our decisions but recognise we could’ve gone a different route. It was sad to have to deliver that news to them.”

While winger Grealish heads off on his summer break, England have their final Euro 2024 warm-up match on Friday against Iceland. After that, they begin their European campaign against Serbia on June 16 in Germany.