Chelsea star Raheem Sterling. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Graeme Souness has criticised Gareth Southgate for picking up Jack Grealish over Raheem Sterling for England’s November international matches. The Three Lions boss came under immense scrutiny for snubbing the Chelsea star despite his rise in form in November.
Sterling has yet to make an appearance for England since the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The former Manchester City forward has produced four goals in his last five Premier League games for Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Grealish has been replaced by Jeremy Doku, who signed in the summer window and still has more goals than the former Aston Villa star.
Now Souness has been unhappy with Southgate’s choice to pick up players for Three Lions matches in November, (h/t Express), and has blasted the manager in his Daily Mail column, where he said:
“If you’re a full back, would you rather play against Sterling or Jack Grealish? I think 10 out of 10 would rather play against Grealish. Sterling is more dangerous than him. Defenders are terrified of pace and directness. Grealish threatens to go down the line, does a couple of stepovers, and then cuts inside and plays the ball square nearly every time. Sterling goes at you, and, as a defender, you’re praying you have a teammate covering you.”
“We’re seeing less and less of Grealish at Manchester City and more of Jeremy Doku. Would you want to play against Doku? No, because he’s more like Sterling.”
We don’t know why Southgate would select Grealish, who has been benched by Doku at City, but it feels unfair right now. Sterling has come a long way and is deserving of the opportunity to play for his country. What Souness said is right on; Sterling has proven he is a huge threat to the opposition and isn’t scared to take on defenders. Grealish typically tries to take on opponents before squaring the ball to a teammate.
His performance hasn’t been convincing, and he is now benched by Doku, who has a similar playing style to Sterling. Hopefully, after the next international break, Sterling will get a chance to be selected.
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