‘England’s talent is exciting – but not enough to continue to ignore Grealish’

Jonjo Shelvey, Danny Drinkwater, Jake Livermore, Jack Cork, Nathaniel Chalobah.

A random selection of players who have been given an England chance since Jack Grealish switched allegiance from Ireland.

Over 70 players have been used by whoever has been England’s national manager since 2015 and Grealish has not been one of them.

Another 70 players will probably be used over the next five years and, as long as Gareth Southgate remains in charge, it looks like Grealish will not be one of them.

There is a chance Southgate will prove that wrong in the next few days when there will surely be multiple withdrawals from a double-header that comes at the strangest time.

If Pep Guardiola and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer outline the absurdity of being given extra time to prepare for their Premier League kick-off while losing players to international duty a fortnight before their first club matches, they would have a point.

We all know it is important international football resumes but this seems a commitment too soon. Frankly, it is ridiculous scheduling.

If there are cry-offs, it will hardly be a surprise.

And, considering he hinted the Aston Villa man had been close to making the squad, that might give Southgate the opportunity to finally give him the nod.

But Grealish should not hold his breath.

Should Jack Grealish be in the England squad? Have your say below.

With each snub, it is clear Grealish does not cut the sort of player – and maybe character – Southgate treasures.

For a start, Grealish has not come through the programme, the St George’s Park project.

Graduate through years at the Football Association’s development school and you have a head start.

Grealish has played a few times for the under-21s since he committed himself to England in September, 2015, but he represented Ireland at junior level.

Pit him against, say, Mason Mount – one of the poster boys for St George’s Park – and there is only winner in Southgate’s eyes.

Mason Greenwood, 18, has been a regular at St George’s Park for half a decade.

When Southgate talks about players being with England for a long time, he is not just talking about the senior team.

Of course you do not have to be a St George’s Park old boy to make a Southgate squad.

But it helps.

And Grealish needs help to get into this England squad.

Assistance might come from withdrawals this week but it remains one of the more baffling narratives of Southgate’s fairly impressive career as England manager.

Southgate is right to stress he has a good number of attacking options, particularly from wide areas.

But no matter how he is deployed at club level, Grealish has the talent and the vision to be a playmaker for England.

He will win you a hell of a lot of free-kicks, into the bargain.

When switching international allegiances, there should be no guarantees, although you suspect there might have been in the case of Declan Rice.

But for Grealish to still be out in the cold over five years since he pledged himself to the English cause – considering some of the caps that have been handed out in that period – is mystifying.

Again, Southgate is right to say he has a young, exciting, attacking squad at his disposal.

But it’s not exciting enough for him to continue to ignore the talent of Jack Grealish.