Gareth Southgate has left Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Euro hopes in tatters after axing the Liverpool full back.
It was a huge omission which caused shockwaves at Liverpool and came as a huge setback to the 22-year-old after his omission for this month’s World Cup qualifiers.
Alexander-Arnold was one of the best players in Europe as Liverpool ran away with the title last season and has been a mainstay under Southgate but is now running out of time to make this summer’s squad for the Euros.
Chelsea younger Reece James has been included along with Atletico Madrid’s Kieran Trippier who has only played five games this year after serving a ban for breaching FA gambling rules.
England boss Southgate claimed that Alexander-Arnold has not reproduced his club form for his country and also struggled for form after having Covid last year. It also means there are no Liverpool players in the 26 man squad to face San Marino, Albania and Poland.
Southgate, who broke the news to Alexander-Arnold before announcing the squad, said: “Trent is very unfortunate but I don't think he's played at the level that he found in the last couple of years.
“I feel like I have got to look at myself a bit with Trent, I don't feel that he has hit that level he's hit with Liverpool here with England and other players have.
“So there is an element of me having to look at how can we do that moving forward because we know some of the qualities that he brings.
“So I think we are looking at performances with club and with us, Reece James was exceptional with us in the autumn, Kieran has been consistently good for us as well.
“It's a remarkable position of strength and what I said to Trent earlier today was I have made the same call to Kyle Walker and Kieran in the past.
"Their response was a good one. They took up the challenge and found themselves back in the squad. Trent is a super talent and I'm certain will play a big part in the future. He misses out this time but we could quite conceivably be sitting here in the summer and he's with us.”
