Three Manchester United players included in Gareth Southgate’s England squad

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England manager Gareth Southgate has included three Manchester United players in his first squad of 2023.

Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire have been included, with the Red Devils captain again retaining the faith of his international manager despite a lack of club gametime.

Jadon Sancho may have also been back in the frame having missed the World Cup, but he has been left out in place of the likes of James Maddison.

Perhaps Aaron Wan-Bissaka has re-entered the Three Lions conversation after some recent good form but Southgate has gone with Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier and Reece James at right-back.

Harry Maguire included in England squad

Southgate was asked about Maguire at the press conference which accompanied the announcement of the squad, and said: “It’s impossible (to stick to the philosophy of only picking players who are playing for their clubs).

“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.”

The international break should give Maguire a chance to get some much-needed gametime, just as he did at the World Cup.

His club situation has not improved on the back of that, but for the player himself, he will be relishing the chance to get gametime.

For Rashford, United fans may hope he gets something of a rest in the coming weeks, because he is just so important for Erik ten Hag.

Shaw is vital too, although there is at least Tyrell Malacia to cover, but Ben Chilwell’s inclusion in the squad at least offers the prospect he may get a rest with England at some stage against Italy and Ukraine.