“Absolutely embarrassing” – Gareth Southgate slated for picking Harry Maguire

"How can Gareth pick him?"

Gareth Southgate has been slated for picking Harry Maguire for the England team, despite not playing regularly and being out of form. Southgate has always prided himself on making the tough decisions, dropping big names like Trent Alexander Arnold or Raheem Sterling whenever their club form hasn't been good enough. However, it's easy to see why people accuse him of favouritism in situations like this, as Maguire cant even get into his club team at the moment. The few times that Manchester United have had to call on him, he has let them down massively, but the England manager persists with selecting him. Former England striker Darren Bent was livid with the decision, and didn't hold back when sharing his views on the matter. "Embarrassing, absolutely embarrassing", Darren Bent told TalkSPORT.

"I get it, [Southgate] keep talking about 'this group of players, this group of players', but I think he's sending out totally the wrong message. There are certain members of the squad who have earned the right to be there and they're not in there. "Then they are other players in the squad like Harry Maguire, whose last three appearances were Sevilla where we know what happened in that game (lost 3-0), he didn't do too bad at Forest when he beat them, then he played 45 minutes against Sevilla when it came off his head and went in. https://twitter.com/talkSPORT/status/1661419286395785216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1661419286395785216%7Ctwgr%5Eb9d4c663e77fccb554e39d510eed8f78bdf1f9a0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-4000880350141761645.ampproject.net%2F2305051745001%2Fframe.html

"I just think he has no form whatsoever. How can Gareth pick him? For me, it's sending the complete wrong message. If I'm a player playing really well for my club side, I'm thinking 'Gareth has got his favourites, so it doesn't really matter for me what I do in that position." Related links:

• Alex Ferguson' failed attempt to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold revealed
• Former Man United defender says that Harry Maguire had to play despite form
• Evan Ferguson shuts down talk that he will switch allegiance from Ireland to England