Southgate right to make ruthless Rashford call

Out with the old for Southgate’s new England

Henderson is another high-profile member of England’s old guard to be culled in the squad, but it is another example of Southgate’s often overlooked colder side when it comes to selection.

Henderson survived the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but his decision to move from Liverpool to the low-key and less intense Saudi Pro League with Al-Ettifaq proved ill-fated and unpopular, the 33-year-old hearing his name jeered by fans on subsequent Wembley appearances with England.

He quit Saudi Arabia after six months to join Ajax but an international career that was increasingly spent on the margins now looks over.

Henderson joins another of Southgate’s former stalwarts, Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling, in international exile. Sterling’s name is no longer even mentioned in the England conversation such as been his fall from grace since the Qatar World Cup.

Kalvin Phillips is another who has suffered a similar fate, eventually leaving Southgate with no reason to select him despite the manager showing loyalty and giving him every chance to rediscover the form that made him a stand-out in England’s run to the Euro 2020 Final.

Phillips’ career came to a dead stop after his move from Leeds United to Manchester City and the loan switch to West Ham United that was designed to re-ignite his claims for England and Euro 2024 was nothing short of a personal nightmare.

Eric Dier might have hoped to revive his England career after a good loan spell at Bayern Munich but, as with Henderson, Sterling and Phillips, Southgate has cut ties with that particular part of his past.