This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
Clearly, the tensions are running high between Liverpool and Manchester City players following the Reds’ 3-1 victory over the Citizens.
In the England camp, there was an incident involving Joe Gomez and Raheem Sterling. The latter had a bee in his bonnet with the Anfield outfit’s defender following their clash on Sunday, and asked him if he thought he was “the big man”.
He is also said to have attempted to get him in a headlock. As such, he will play no part for the Three Lions against Montenegro on Thursday.
A lot of the discourse since has been aimed at Sterling’s side of the situation. It seems, though, that few have questioned why Gomez is even in the squad from a footballing point of view.
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The 22-year-old may be a popular player for Southgate – he has seven caps under the current boss – but it is hard to justify his inclusion. So far this campaign, he has made just seven starts in all competitions. In those matches, Jurgen Klopp’s side have conceded 13.
England may not be blessed with centre-backs, but there are surely some who are more worthy at this current time.
The one that stands out the most is Chris Smalling, who is excelling at AS Roma on loan from Manchester United. He has an average WhoScored rating of 7.26 in Serie A, having played ten matches in all competitions already. James Tarkowski, who has helped Burnley keep four clean sheets in the first 12 matches of the campaign, is another name to consider.
Southgate has previously mentioned he is unhappy with the number of English players starting regularly, yet he has ignored those who are in favour of one who has spent most of the campaign on the bench.
He has the potential to become a star player, but right now, £31.5m-valued Gomez does not deserve a place in the squad.