James Maddison has been axed from England’s squad for the European Championship, with Jarrod Bowen set to benefit from his exclusion.
Maddison, the Tottenham Hotspur attacking midfielder, will not be part of Gareth Southgate’s plans for this summer’s tournament in Germany and has left the England training camp.
Tottenham’s £40 million signing has struggled for consistency this year after returning from an ankle injury and was informed on Wednesday that he will not be included in the final 26-man squad.
Maddison is alleged to have initially been told he was in line to start England’s final friendly against Iceland at Wembley on Friday night but will now have no involvement.
Telegraph Sport understands that Maddison’s withdrawal has boosted West Ham forward Bowen’s chances of boarding the plane to Euro 2024.
Bowen played the full 90 minutes of the 3-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday night at St. James’ Park and is believed to be on course to make the final cut.
Southgate has to cut seven players from the provisional 33-man squad before naming his squad on Friday.
Manchester City’s Jack Grealish is optimistic of winning a place, while Harry Maguire, the Manchester United centre-back, is hoping to travel to Germany despite the fact he is still recovering from a calf injury.
Maguire’s United team-mate Luke Shaw has given Southgate a huge boost by returning to training.
After the win over Bosnia-Herzegovina, Southgate said: “We understand the significance for all of the players so we’re giving it the respect and attention it deserves to make fair, right decisions.
“Of course, it’s always going to be subjective. It’s not just getting the best individuals in, there’s a positional element to that as well.
“We’ve got really good options and I think we’ve come through tonight without any physical issues, which is really important.”
Meanwhile, Shaw has stepped up his recovery from injury. The Manchester United left-back has returned to the grass and started training in part with the rest of the England squad this week.
The next step for the 28-year-old will be to reintegrate back into full team training, but his progress this week is viewed within the England camp as being significant.
Given Shaw has not played since February because of a hamstring injury, England will have to be careful with him.