Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe or Patrick Bamford amongst players who could be used as ‘wild card’ England Euro selection

By Josh Barker


Published: May 5, 2021 12:31 pm

Last Updated: May 6, 2021 3:43 pm

Euro 2020 squads expanded from 23 to 26

The delayed Euro 2020 tournament is of course finally set to take place this summer.

The competition will begin in June, and hands players very little rest following what has been a jam-packed club season.

To help combat this, UEFA recently confirmed that squads at this summer’s Euros will be expanded to 26 players, three more than the usual 23:

EXCLUSIVE: This could allow Gareth Southgate to take a calculated risk with Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish, who has been out with a shin problem since mid-February, writes @martynziegler https://t.co/xlGPhkQFt6

— Times Sport (@TimesSport) April 27, 2021

Bamford or Smith Rowe for England?

This squad expansion could stand to benefit several English players this summer.

Whilst areas such as centre-back and goalkeeper are not overly strong points for the Three Lions, they do boast several positions bursting with options.

The majority of these are at the top end of the pitch, and right-back.

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 27: Patrick Bamford of Leeds United celebrates after scoring his sides first goal during the Premier League match between Sheffield United and Leeds United at Bramall Lane on September 27, 2020 in Sheffield, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

And now, The Times have provided an insight into some of the English players who could stand to benefit from the expanded squad sizes.

It is reported that Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe and Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford could be considered by Gareth Southgate this summer, as ‘wild card’ options.

Bamford is of course enjoying by far and away his best-ever stint in the Premier League, having notched 14 goals and eight assists in 34 outings this season, whilst ESR has been one of Arsenal’s standout creative options.

The Times add that Southgate could also use the extra space to give a chance to a player who has fallen out of favour, such as Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.

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This article was edited by
Conor Laird.

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Premier League table

#	Team	MP	D	P
1	Manchester City FC	34	47	80
2	Manchester United FC	33	29	67
3	Leicester City FC	34	22	63
4	Chelsea FC	34	22	61
5	West Ham United FC	34	11	58
6	Tottenham Hotspur FC	34	22	56
7	Liverpool FC	33	16	54
8	Everton FC	33	3	52
9	Arsenal FC	34	9	49
10	Aston Villa FC	33	10	48
11	Leeds United	34	-2	47
12	Wolverhampton Wanderers FC	34	-13	42
13	Crystal Palace FC	33	-22	38
14	Brighton & Hove Albion FC	34	-4	37
15	Southampton FC	33	-18	37
16	Burnley FC	34	-16	36
17	Newcastle United FC	34	-20	36
18	Fulham FC	34	-20	27
19	West Bromwich Albion	34	-34	26
20	Sheffield United FC	34	-42	17

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Player	Team	Goals
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur FC	21
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	20
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United FC	16
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur FC	16
Calvert-Lewin, Dominic	Everton FC	15
Bamford, Patrick	Leeds United	14
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City FC	13
Watkins, Ollie	Aston Villa FC	13
Lacazette, Alexandre	Arsenal FC	13
Gundogan, Ilkay	Manchester City FC	12
Wood, Chris	Burnley FC	11
Rashford, Marcus	Manchester United FC	10
Wilson, Callum	Newcastle United FC	10
Ings, Danny	Southampton FC	10
Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick	Arsenal FC	10
Zaha, Wilfried	Crystal Palace FC	10
Iheanacho, Kelechi	Leicester City FC	10
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City FC	9
Pereira, Matheus	West Bromwich Albion	9
Antonio, Michail	West Ham United FC	9

Player	Team	Red Cards	Yellow Cards
Maguire, Harry	Manchester United FC		10
Gallagher, Conor	West Bromwich Albion		9
Milivojevic, Luka	Crystal Palace FC	1	8
Lundstram, John	Sheffield United FC	1	8
Luiz, Douglas	Aston Villa FC		8
Hojbjerg, Pierre	Tottenham Hotspur FC		8
Xhaka, Granit	Arsenal FC	1	7
Bellerin, Hector	Arsenal FC		8
Egan, John	Sheffield United FC	1	7
Holgate, Mason	Everton FC		8
Hayden, Isaac	Newcastle United FC		8
Soucek, Tomas	West Ham United FC	1	6
McGoldrick, David	Sheffield United FC		7
McGinn, John	Aston Villa FC		7
Shaw, Luke	Manchester United FC		7
Neves, Ruben	Wolverhampton Wanderers FC		7
Reid, Bobby	Fulham FC		7
Evans, Jonny	Leicester City FC		7
Alioski, Ezgjan	Leeds United		7
Kante, N`Golo	Chelsea FC		7

Player	Team	Assists
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur FC	13
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United FC	11
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur FC	10
Grealish, Jack	Aston Villa FC	10
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City FC	10
Rashford, Marcus	Manchester United FC	8
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City FC	7
Werner, Timo	Chelsea FC	7
Cresswell, Aaron	West Ham United FC	7
Digne, Lucas	Everton FC	7
Bamford, Patrick	Leeds United	6
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City FC	6
Pereira, Matheus	West Bromwich Albion	6
Ward-Prowse, James	Southampton FC	6
Mane, Sadio	Liverpool FC	6
Harrison, Jack	Leeds United	6
Raphinha	Leeds United	6
Neto, Pedro	Wolverhampton Wanderers FC	6
Gross, Pascal	Brighton & Hove Albion FC	6
Silva, Bernardo	Manchester City FC	6

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