The inclusion of Arsenal left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly in the England squad is evidence of a “big club bias”, says Stan Collymore.
Lewis-Skelly has been handed his first senior call-up having impressed for Arsenal in the Premier League and Champions League this season.
The 18-year-old has played 26 times across all competitions for the Gunners and thoroughly deserves his place in the squad, especially considering the lack of left-back/left-wing-back options England head coach Thomas Tuchel has.
Well, that’s my opinion and not the opinion of former Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and England striker Collymore, who believes the teenager has benefitted from a “big club bias”, which Tuchel “must get rid of”.
Collymore also used Nottingham Forest’s success, combined with the omission of Morgan Gibbs-White (originally), Elliot Anderson and Callum Hudson-Odoi, to argue his case.
He told CaughtOffside: “I have no problems with Dan Burn being called up to the England squad. His form for Newcastle has been very good for a while, although he is not going to be the future of English defenders – that will be players like Marc Guehi, Levi Colwill, Ezri Konsa and Jarrell Quansah.
“However, it is a great story for him, winning the Carabao Cup on Sunday before getting his first call-up. He is a Harry Maguire-esque central defender that is no nonsense, and he will fit in.
“Myles Lewis-Skelly is another that I have no problems with – if he is going to be the future for Arsenal and England. However, I think that if he was someone that played for a team in the lower half of the Premier League, and he had the same sample size of matches as he has had, I’m not so sure that he would not be in the squad.
“We need to start rewarding players that play well regardless of the team that they play for in the Premier League, and that is a massive argument with the Nottingham Forest boys.
“For me, Morgan Gibbs-White was undoubtedly only brought in to the England squad as a late call-up because of the media attention that his omission received.
“I like to think that I have a voice as much as any of the other big voices when it comes to England and English football, and I am certainly someone that reacted when I saw that there were no Forest players included in the squad.
“Gibbs-White, Elliot Anderson and Callum Hudson-Odoi all deserved to be called up, they have all played every week for a team that are third in the Premier League.
“I think questions have to be asked about who is watching matches. There was already a story that Tuchel has not come over to watch many games, and now the call-ups will start to create a narrative that he does not watch players, and that his scouting system is not working as it should be.
“In terms of the rest of the squad, I have no problems with Marcus Rashford getting in. He has not been as good at Aston Villa as many have been saying, but he has looked infinitely better than when he was at Manchester United earlier in the season, and I think that he just about deserves to be there.”