Gareth Southgate defends Jesse Lingard England call-up after Man Utd ace slammed on Twitter
GARETH SOUTHGATE has defended his decision to name Jesse Lingard in his England squad for the Euro 2020 qualifiers.
The Three Lions boss was slated for picking the Manchester United star - who has not scored or made an assist in 2019.
Southgate has warned that no one is safe after he axed Manchester City defender Kyle Walker from his squad.
But the manager kept Lingard in his squad for the double-header against Bulgaria and Kosovo despite his shocking spell of form.
He started United's first three games of the season, but was hauled off against Crystal Palace and dropped to the bench for the 1-1 draw at Southampton.
Explaining his reasons behind picking Lingard, Southgate said: "I think you'd have to say I've seen him have better spells for United.
"He scored two and had a goal disallowed when he came on in the Nations League game. He had a very good World Cup.
"When you're selecting a team, there's half an eye on club form but also I don't remember a game where he's been really poor for us.
"He has different attributes. I think for him and for everybody else, there is serious competition and if they aren't scoring for us or they aren't scoring for their clubs, that can make things more difficult.
"But, equally, I think it's good that we support him at this moment, in that you could argue club-wise, he's on the fringes and whether he should be ahead of others.
"But I don't think there are too many that we haven't included that should be ahead of him, and his performance for us has been very, very good."
England supporters went wild on social media after it was confirmed that Lingard had made the cut.
Jesse Lingard for England
- Games played: 24
- Games started: 14
- Minutes played: 1485
- Goals: 4
- Assists: 2
- Games won: 12
- Games drawn: 7
- Games lost: 5
One said: "How is Jesse Lingard a Premier League footballer? Let alone in the England squad."
While another added: "How is Lingard in the England squad - overrated!"
In 24 games for England, the 26-year-old has scored four goals and made two assists.