Gareth Southgate has explained why he chose uncapped players Anthony Gordon and Jarrad Branthwaite in his new England team.
Gareth Southgate has called up Anthony Gordon to represent England for the first time in their upcoming friendly games against Brazil and Belgium. Gordon has been in fantastic form for Newcastle United this season, scoring ten goals across all competitions.
Five of these goals have come against Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City, and Gareth Southgate has stated that these goals, as well as Gordon’s consistency throughout the season, are a major factor for his call-up. Southgate added, “Consistently good performances. He was extremely close in November, as I mentioned at the time, and he’s maintained his form.
“He scores, does fantastic teamwork, and competes, which is vital. I like his approach, and he’s another player we followed closely with the Under-21s, where he played a different role as a false-nine, but he did it quite well. He’s had a great season and scored goals against some of the top clubs, which is really interesting for us to see.”
Gordon will be joined in the new squad by Jarrad Branthwaite, a former Everton colleague and fellow England Under-21 European champion. The Toffees defender has been rewarded for his fine showing this season. Branthwaite has been linked with a big-money move away from Merseyside this summer, with Manchester United and Newcastle United reportedly interested in him.
👏 Anthony Gordon v 'Big six' clubs this season
⚽️ Goal v Manchester City
⚽️ Goal v Manchester United
⚽️ Goal v Arsenal
⚽️🤝 Goal and assist v Liverpool
⚽️🤝 Goal and assist v Chelsea#NUFC pic.twitter.com/vGRyzmODNu— Mouth of the Tyne – Shields Gazette (@MouthofTynePod) March 6, 2024
Southgate, like Gordon, commended Branthwaite for his consistency, admitting that his Everton performances this season have caught him off guard: “He’s played consistently well,” the Three Lions boss stated.
“We watched him as a back-up centre-back in the Under-21s last year, and if you had told me he’d play as consistently well in the Premier League as he has, I’d have doubted it last summer. So much credit to him and Sean [Dyche] for giving a young centre-half a chance.
“He’s good with the ball, shows good composure and mentality and he’s a left-footer. We don’t have many left footed defenders so he’s in on merit and we’re really keen to work with him and find out a bit more about him.”
However, Kalvin Phillips will not be playing for England this time around. The former Leeds United player struggled for playing time in the first part of the season and has had a rough start to life on loan at West Ham. In terms of the midfielder, Southgate has left the door open for his future participation, saying that he warned Phillips that he would have to change clubs in the winter if he wanted to be considered for this summer’s European Championship.
“I believe he understands exactly what we think of him. I believe we have showed that support.” Southgate said.
“A good version of him is a valuable player for us. That is why we have provided such strong support for him.
“We do not have many guys with that profile. Unfortunately, his form has not been good enough. He has all of the qualities to force his way back in, and we’re eager for him to do so.”
He went on to say: “I told him if he had continued not to play at City, that was going to be a problem.”
