Gareth Southgate has assured Manchester City full-back Kyle Walker about his future with England despite dropping him from the squad for their upcoming European Championship qualifiers.
Walker has been left out of the squad as Southgate has gone with the younger options in Manchester United’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The 29-year-old defender’s omission from the squad amidst a season where he is facing competition for his place in the Manchester City team from summer signing Joao Cancelo.
The defender has impressed in the first few weeks of the campaign and his name not being part of the England squad came as a shock for many.
But according to The Athletic, Southgate has told Walker that he remains his number one choice at right-back despite his dropping.
He has assured the full-back that he will get more opportunities to play for England leading up to next summer’s European Championship.
Southgate wants to check out Wan-Bissaka and Alexander-Arnold in what he feels are winnable games against Bulgaria and Kosovo.
While the England manager has privately assured Walker of his importance, he did say earlier this week that future selections will depend on performances.
