KYLE WALKER has been named as England’s vice captain for Euro 2024, according to reports.
He will be second in-command to talisman Harry Kane.
GettyKyle Walker has been named as England’s vice-captain[/caption]
RexHe will play deputy to skipper Harry Kane[/caption]
GettyHe replaces Jordan Henderson[/caption]
Manchester City captain Walker replaces former Liverpool star Jordan Henderson in the role.
Walker took the mantle of captain for Pep Guardiola’s champions last summer following the departure of Ilkay Gundogan to Barcelona an the long-term absence of Kevin De Bruyne through injury.
And now Walker, who was named as part of the Gareth Southgate’s player leadership group, has now been promoted to vice-captain of the national team, according to the Daily Mail.
He wore the armband for the national team for the first time last October in a 1-1 draw with North Macedonia.
Walker is the oldest and second most capped player in the 26-man squad with 83 caps to his name.
His return is bettered only by former Tottenham team-mate and Three Lions skipper Kane.
Indeed, since Southgate took charge of England, only Kane has earned more caps, while Harry Maguire is level with Walker on 63 appearances under the 53-year-old.
Henderson, 33, failed to make the cut for the Euro 2024 squad.
He left Liverpool last summer to sign for Al-Nassr.
Henderson then left the Saudi Arabian outfit to return to Europe with Ajax in a bid to secure his spot in Southgate’s team.
However, a ruthless selection from Southgate left the midfielder up a creek without a paddle in terms of making the Euro 2024 finals.
More to follow.
This is a bold changing of the guard from Southgate… he’s never been afraid to be ruthless
GARETH SOUTHGATE has made a habit of taking ruthless calls during his eight years as England boss, writes Dave Kidd.
And his decision to axe Jack Grealish, as well as James Maddison, is further evidence of the Three Lions chief being unafraid to take big decisions with big-name players.
Harry Maguire is also among the seven players left out for the squad to travel to Germany for the Euros, although the decision to omit the Manchester United centre-back is based on his failure to recover from injury.
Southgate is, more than ever, picking on form.
Attacking midfielders such as Eberechi Eze, Jarrod Bowen, Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon have been rewarded with call-ups for their excellent Premier League form, while Marcus Rashford, Maddison and Grealish all get the chop.
While the England boss is often regarded as an over-cautious nice guy, he took big decisions in getting rid of the likes of Wayne Rooney, Joe Hart and Chris Smalling at the start of his reign.
Southgate also jettisoned Raheem Sterling last year after the Chelsea man had been a regular starter throughout most of his reign.
And Jordan Henderson was left out of the 33-man preliminary squad having been a stalwart for Southgate throughout his previous three tournaments.
Grealish has been a cause celebre for England fans – who have often accused Southgate of holding an agenda against him.
But he has struggled for game-time with Manchester City all season, just as Maddison has been off-form since returning from injury at Spurs.
This is a bold changing of the guard from Southgate, who has relied heavily on Maguire, Henderson, Sterling and Rashford throughout his time in charge, while Grealish and Maddison are both popular flair players who fully expected to make the 26-man party for Germany.
Burnley keeper James Trafford, the Liverpool duo of Curtis Jones and Jarrell Quansah and Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite make up Southgate’s seven-man cull along with Grealish, Maddison and Maguire.
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