Gareth Southgate describes Jordan Henderson's judgment and James Maddison's rejection from the England squad.
Neither Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson nor Leicester City midfielder James Maddison have been named to England's squad for the Nations League matches next month.
Jordan Henderson has not been called up to the England squad, according to Gareth Southgate, because he does not need to know any more about him.
This season, the 31-year-old has made 56 appearances across all competitions and is set to start the Champions League final this weekend. Liverpool play Real Madrid in Paris two days before the England squad gathers at St George's Park for four games in June.
In their Nations League group, England plays Hungary twice, Germany once, and Italy once over the course of ten days. Southgate has decided to take a 27-man squad for those matches, despite Henderson having been in every Three Lions camp since October 2020.
Southgate explained his exclusion by saying, "I don't need to know any more about him, and he's played a lot of football this season." Trent [Alexander-Arnold] will likely be with us for the first half of the games, and that will be enough for him."
"I was very conscious with the Champions League boys - they've had a remarkable season really and couldn't have been involved in any more games," he added. We've learned over the last three or four years from players involved in that match that the emotional fallout is very high, win or lose.
"I spoke with two lads about where they were with it and where they felt they should be with it - they are in different positions in that because of their ages."
"We have good players in both positions, so we're covered, and we felt Henderson wasn't necessary to see this summer, but we wanted to see Trent with the camp. We offered him the option of arriving late, but he preferred to continue and then leave a little earlier."
James Maddison is another in-form midfielder who has been left out of England's squad. The Leicester City man scored 18 goals and grabbed 12 assists across all competitions this term - the most out of any English Premier League midfielder. However, Southgate has opted not to choose him with Mason Mount and Phil Foden in instead.
He said: "He has finished the season very well. He is obviously scoring goals but we just feel we are very happy with the players that have been with us.
"He's up against Mason Mount, Phil Foden, and other players of his caliber in the role where he excels. It's one of the positions with a lot of depth, and you may have to leave out players who are equally deserving."
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