Why I prefer Mason Mount over £100m Man City star – Gareth Southgate finally reveals
England manager Gareth Southgate has been chastised for his conservative approach with the national squad.
The Three Lions roster is loaded with skill in every position, but detractors frequently criticize Southgate for not taking an aggressive approach to games.
Southgate frequently seemed to prefer Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount to offensive star Jack Grealish, who joined Man City for £100 million last summer.
Mount’s selfless performance in the 1-1 Nations League match in Germany was praised by Southgate as something that goes largely unappreciated.
“I hear about conservatism, but we were the highest scorers in Europe last year, so I don’t quite know what more you can do. I’m not saying I don’t buy into it because I understand in this role everybody’s going to have a view,” the England manager said, as reported by The Telegraph.
“Look, I’ve got to find a balance because I don’t want to sit and be defensive but some people have managed teams and others haven’t.
“Until you’ve managed teams, you have a different view of the game because what’s needed to win football matches are the sorts of things that [Mason] Mount did [marking Joshua] Kimmich that allows other things to happen.
“Of course for the man who comes and stands on the terrace and in old terms pays his money, I totally understand he wants to see a Grealish with a [Raheem] Sterling with a [Bukayo] Saka… but you’ve got to have a balance of the team. This is top-level football.”