"I think he probably deserves to be in over Grealish" - Paul Scholes says Manchester United star should have made the England squad ahead of Manchester City's Jack Grealish
Pundit and Manchester United legend Paul Scholes believes Jadon Sancho deserves a place in the England squad ahead of Manchester City's Jack Grealish.
The Three Lions will be competing in their last two matches prior to the 2022 FIFA World Cup during the upcoming international break. They recently released a 28-man squad for the same, with some of the decisions raising eyebrows.
Prime among those was Gareth Southgate's decision to leave out Manchester United duo Sancho and Marcus Rashford. Both players have begun the 2022-23 club season in good form under new Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag.
The call to select Jack Grealish was also met with some criticism as the latter has struggled to settle since joining Manchester City for £100 million last summer. Scholes was the latest to question the decision and said on BT Sport (as quoted by Football 365):
“Gareth’s picked his players for a reason, possibly from previous squads. I think he (Sancho) probably deserves to be in over Jack Grealish at the minute.”
Gareth Southgate has named a 28-man squad for our #ThreeLions' upcoming games against Italy and Germany:
The former England midfielder went on to praise Sancho, who scored for United in their UEFA Europa League win against Sheriff Tiraspol on Thursday (September 15):
“He scored a good goal against Liverpool and showed signs tonight. He’s better when he’s coming inside and linking play.”
Scholes believes having certain types of players around him will help Sancho thrive and stated:
“He doesn’t have that electrifying pace to go past someone on the outside or on the inside. When he was good at Dortmund, he had [Erling] Haaland, [Achraf] Hakimi – he always had someone to link with. At Manchester United, if he can link with Fernandes or Eriksen, who are clever players to link with, he could be a good player for Man United.”
England will play in UEFA Nations League fixtures against Italy and Germany during the upcoming international break.
How have Manchester United's Jadon Sancho and Manchester City's Jack Grealish fared this season?
A major point in Jadon Sancho's favor is that he remains one of Manchester United's primary options on the flanks.
The Englishman has started seven out of the Red Devils' eight matches across all competitions this season, racking up 533 minutes on the pitch. In those games, Sancho has scored three goals and linked up well with his fellow forwards.
Nicely done, @Sanchooo10 👌
#MUFC || #UEL https://t.co/kB2fT5nlyt
Jack Grealish, meanwhile, has received 254 minutes of action across competitions since Manchester City's loss in the FA Community Shield. While he has started all four matches he has played in, he has completed the match on only one occasion.
Grealish is yet to register a goal or assist for Manchester City this season.