Wayne Rooney believe Gareth Southgate should have taken one Everton star for the Three Lions squad this summer.
England manager Gareth Southgate had to make some difficult decisions for his Three Lions squad for the European Championships this summer.
Marcus Rashford, Harry Maguire and Jack Grealish were among some of the names to miss out on Southgate’s final 26-man squad for the tournament in Germany.
One player who missed out, however, was Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite who had a superb breakout season for the Toffees under Sean Dyche. So much so, that a move to Manchester United could be in the offing.
Rooney on Branthwaite
One player who knows the pressure of playing at a major tournament for England is Wayne Rooney.
Despite a superb career at a club level, the English forward struggled at international level as the Three Lions never came close to winning either major international tournament.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Rooney shared his one concern for England heading into the major tournament.
“Defence concerns me, too,” Rooney said. “With Maguire injured, I would have taken Jarrad Branthwaite. In fact, I would have considered starting Branthwaite against Serbia.
“I think he’s brilliant. On his debut against Bosnia-Herzegovina you saw what he offers — he was aggressive to the ball, he passed through the lines, and he has a good left foot.”
Southgate has had to deal with a slew of injury problems heading into the tournament with John Stones, Maguire and Luke Shaw suffering with problems.
Branthwaite has performed exceptionally for Everton this season and it was certainly a surprise to see the Toffees defender left out.
Dyche on Branthwaite
One figure who has been key for the Toffees and indeed Branthwaite is Dyche, who oversaw the club remaining in the Premier League, despite their points deduction.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Dyche explained what makes the defender so special, he said: “I think so far, he missed a bit of pre-season which was unfortunate, he’s come through, he’s got his chance, he’s working hard at his game, I think he’s listening.
“We’re still keeping the coaching level quite low, just letting him learn as he’s going with more pointers and different things, positional things.
“Tactical understanding aspects, a lot about being alive in the defensive zone, not just the first press as I call it, the second press. Are you pressing to win a ball? Once its passed drive back into the key areas.
“Little details that I know as a centre half because I was one, you want to fast track that learning, that’s the idea. But he’s taken it on, he’s been very open-minded to what it is, and he’s enjoying his football.”
The post ‘He’s brilliant’: Wayne Rooney says he is a big fan of ‘aggressive’ player who could sign for Manchester United appeared first on HITC.
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