Everton defender Conor Coady set to be dropped from England squad by Gareth Southgate
Everton defender Conor Coady will not be selected in Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad, according to the Daily Mail.
Coady has been a regular in Southgate’s squad in recent years, with the centre-back included in the 26-man squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in December.
But the newspaper understands that Coady will not be involved in the squad for this month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine.
England travel to Italy on 23 March in their opening group match before hosting Ukraine three days later, with Southgate set to name his squad for the matches imminently.
But there will reportedly be no place for Everton defender Coady, who has struggled for game time under new Toffees manager Sean Dyche.
A regular under Frank Lampard after joining on loan from Wolves, Coady has been forced to watch on from the bench in Everton’s last three Premier League matches.
Understandable
It may seem a harsh decision at first to leave Coady out, but it would be an understandable one from Southgate, who will want only the freshest players at his disposal.
Coady had been performing admirably for the Toffees before dropping to the bench, with Everton standing firm at the back as their forwards struggled to find the back of the net.
But given the competition for places in the England squad, Coady may just have to accept the decision and fight for his place for both club and country.
The Daily Mail adds that Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi is a strong contender to take Coady’s place in the Three Lions squad.
Southgate watched on from the stands in Everton’s victory 1-0 over Brentford on Saturday (11 March), but that was to keep an eye on striker Ivan Toney.
The Three Lions boss will also have been checking in on Toffees number one Jordan Pickford, who is expected to retain his place in between the sticks against Italy and Ukraine.