Gareth Southgate still sees Harry Maguire as one of England's best defenders after naming him in the squad for their upcoming European Championship qualifiers.
Maguire was one of three Manchester United players named in the Three Lions squad on Thursday afternoon, a week to the day before they begin their qualification campaign away against Italy.
Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford have both also been named in the squad ahead of the international break as a reward for their fine form throughout this season.
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There is not as compelling an argument to select Maguire given his rotational role at club level this season; however, he remains a firm favourite under the England manager.
When asked about the decision to select the United captain, Southgate responded by explaining why he still picks players who do not always play for their clubs.
“It’s impossible (to stick to the philosophy of only picking players who are playing for their clubs)," he said at his press conference.
“We’ve got to pick our best players where possible and then there’s a balance between going for a certain level of player who is not playing quite as regularly or a level of player who is physically fit and doing well – not speaking about specific names here, as a general principle.
“It’s interesting talking to other coaches of national teams, and they also feel you should choose your best players as long as they are in a reasonable physical level and that’s where we are with it.
“We’d love to have that depth but we are shorter than the other nations on the depth of selection in certain positions. Those numbers are deteriorating in the Premier League.”
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