Trent Alexander-Arnold and Marcus Rashford earn place in England squad for Euro qualifiers, Chelsea and Arsenal stars miss out
Arsenal defender Ben White and Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling have both been overlooked by Gareth Southgate as he named the England squad for the Euro qualifiers.
Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold and Manchester United's Marcus Rashford have both been named in Southgate's 25-man squad for Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia.
Alexander-Arnold has been named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the first time since the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The Liverpool full-back played only 33 minutes in Qatar before the Three Lions were knocked out by France in the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford was ruled out of action for England during the last international break due to an injury. The red-hot Manchester United forward makes a comeback into Southgate's setup.
Alexander-Arnold has been in blistering form of late for Liverpool since Jurgen Klopp handed him an inverted full-back role. The 24-year-old has four goals and nine assists in 46 games across competitions this season.
Rashford, on the other hand, has also been on fire for his side, scoring 29 goals and providing 11 assists in 53 appearances.
Raheem Sterling, who has been one of Southgate's favorite players in the England side, has been left out following a difficult season on and off the pitch for Chelsea. As per The Guardian, the decision has been taken for him to use the international break as a chance to rest before pre-season.
Arsenal defender White has also not been included in the 25-player squad despite reports that Southgate reached out to the defender, who left the World Cup in Qatar early due to personal reasons.
Eberechi Eze and Lewis Dunk have both been called up, with the former earning a call-up for the first time. Dunk, meanwhile, has come back into the international fold for the first time since 2018 and could earn his second-ever cap.
Sterling has scored just nine goals and produced four assists in 37 games for Chelsea this season after joining the Blues in a £47.5million deal from Manchester City last summer. White has been a regular for Arsenal this season and has been mostly deployed at right-back.
Arsenal lead Chelsea in the race to sign Premier League midfielder this summer
Arsenal are reportedly leading Chelsea in the race to sign coveted Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo in the summer. As per Football Insider, Caicedo has emerged as a target for both London clubs and was the subject of bids from both sides in January.
Bright are reportedly happy to let the Ecuador international depart for a fee in the region of £70-80 million.
Arsenal are believed to be leading the race to sign Caicedo in the summer due to the player's desire to compete in the Champions League. The Chelsea target has been a key cog in Brighton's system since joining the club in the winter window of 2021 in a deal worth just £4.5m.
The 21-year-old has already made 51 appearances for the Seagulls and has grown into one of the most in-demand players in Europe.