Gary Lineker has listed three youngsters England should take to Euro 2024 as they look to win the competition and end 58 years of hurt.
Gareth Southgate’s side reached the final of the European Championships in 2021, only to end up losing to Italy on penalties.
England will be among the favourites to reign supreme this upcoming summer, however, having established themselves as one of the best teams in international football in recent years.
Southgate will have a selection headache due to the vast amount of talent out there.
Gary Lineker has opened up on the England squad as Gareth Southgate targets Euro 2024 glory
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And Lineker feels Everton’s Jarrod Branthwaite, Chelsea’s Cole Palmer and Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo should all be on the plane to Germany.
“Blimey, I’ve been put on the spot there,’ he said in a Reddit Q&A for his podcast.
“I think maybe Branthwaite from Everton, I think he’s got a chance.
“It’s just an area of the team that Gareth might get to give someone a chance.
“I know Cole Palmer’s already been in the England squad and played, so it doesn’t quite count, but I think he’s got a real chance of making the squad.
“I will go with Kobbie Mainoo as the other one, because he has impressed me so much.
“I mean, he’s so young, I think he’s just 18. So to do what he’s doing is quite remarkable at a club like Manchester United.
“So I think he might sneak in.”
All three players have impressed for their respective clubs in the Premier League so far this season.
Branthwaite has played 26 games for Everton across all competitions this term, starting 22 of those fixtures.
He’s proven to be a reliable presence for Sean Dyche as his side battles to avoid relegation to the Championship, with the Toffees currently ahead of Luton in the relegation zone on goal difference.
As for Palmer, eyebrows were raised when Manchester City opted to sell the winger back in the summer.
And the forward has dazzled for Chelsea in the time since, managing 20 goal involvements from 26 matches.
Manchester United have long felt Mainoo is a player destined for greatness.
They’ve had to be patient with the 18-year-old after he sustained a devastating injury during pre-season.
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Gary Lineker has hailed Cole Palmer and Jarrod Branthwaite as Euro 2024 creeps closer
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But Mainoo hasn’t looked back since returning and is one of the first names on Erik ten Hag’s team sheet over at Old Trafford.
Meanwhile, speaking recently, Jose Mourinho revealed he turned down an offer to manage England long before Southgate’s appointment.
The Portuguese spoke on Rio Ferdinand’s Vibe with Five podcast and also revealed he’d been offered the chance to take charge of his own country, too, only to turn it down.
“I could be that coach in the national team. Also yours imagine,” he told Ferdinand.
“I had it there on the table. [I didn’t take it] because I was and am still there a little bit because I had always the national team job as something that I wouldn’t enjoy.
Gary Lineker feels England should take Manchester United star Kobbie Mainoo to Euro 2024 this summer
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“This was so Chelsea was 04/05, 05/06, 06/07, 07/08 and 07/08 was when Mr Capello got the job.”
Ferdinand reacted by saying: “With you as the coach we would have won something.”
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