Gareth Southgate claims it "never crossed his mind" to drop Harry Maguire from the England squad.
The Manchester United centre-half has been a regular for the Three Lions under the current coach, playing a key role in their journey to the final of Euro 2020. However he, like several of his compatriots, has experienced a sharp decline since the summer's achievements with his club form regularly criticised.
Maguire has played in a United backline that has struggled for clean sheets and consistency, shipping five against Liverpool at Old Trafford earlier this season. The 29-year-old has come in for particular criticism, scoring an own goal in his team's last Premier League outing against Tottenham.
There have also been rumours of infighting with teammate Cristiano Ronaldo as his captaincy too comes under the spotlight. His club form has not deterred Southgate however who continues to have the utmost faith in his defender. "I don’t think it ever crossed our minds not to select Harry Maguire for this squad,” he said.
"He’s been a key part of the starting XI that got us to a World Cup semi-final and a Euros final. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s one of our best centre-backs." Maguire is one of several regular centre-halves in the squad with John Stones, Conor Coady and Tyrone Mings also included. Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi has received a call-up for his impressive displays.
Southgate has made a habit of backing players who've performed for the Three Lions, irrespective of their displays at club level. Jordan Pickford has made several errors for Everton amid calls for one of his back-ups to be given more minutes with England but Southgate has resisted such opinions and stuck by his No 1.
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One man who has missed out on selection is Marcus Rashford - for so long a regular with the Three Lions. He is another United player struggling for form and is not currently a regular at Old Trafford with Southgate citing his omission as part of elite sport. He said: “For various reasons, Marcus has dropped out of that a little bit. We have players in that area of the pitch playing at a better level, so it is harsh but that is the nature of elite sport unfortunately.”
“Marcus is very realistic,” Southgate added. “He will be searching as much as anybody to get that form back. It is important, perhaps after this camp, for me to go and sit with him and find out a bit more what is going on. But also there is a reality that we are not working with him every day so there is a limit to what that is probably going to achieve."
Rashford's teammate Jadon Sancho was a surprise name to miss out given his return to form in recent weeks. Harry Kane, Tammy Abraham, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Bukayo Saka are among the forward players included. England will play friendlies against Switzerland and the Ivory Coast.
