As reported by the Mirror, Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho didn’t think twice over picking Ben Chilwell over Luke Shaw for England.
Furthermore, since Shaw was the best left-back in the Premier League last season, I think this clarifies why Mourinho didn’t last at another English club, getting the hatchet from Daniel Levy at Tottenham before his side played an EFL Cup final.
Mourinho additionally didn’t choose Marcus Rashford for England’s Euro 2020 opener against Croatia on Sunday, which we could, in any event, comprehend on the grounds that he has played through injuries for quite a long time making it close to difficult to arrive at his best shape for the country.
There’s no arguing that the Euros has come at a bad time for Rashford. Mourinho was quick to choose Grealish over Rashford as he thinks Grealish is a better player for England.
We must admit that Shaw didn’t had a good relationship with Mourinho who often singled out Shaw for open criticism during his time at Old Trafford. The current AS Roma manager praised the left-back for his great season, yet demanded he would have no doubt in selecting Chelsea’s Chilwell in front of him. Obviously, he would.
While having a chat with talkSPORT, Mourinho said: “I think he’s had a good season. Clearly an evolution in terms of emotion and professionalism. But Chilwell has something more, especially with the ball. The way he thinks, he is very calm under pressure. I like Chilwell a lot. I also think Grealish is untouchable. And the best position for him is coming from the left, which creates a situation where, for me, Rashford can only play there. I think when he plays on the right he is completely lost. The dynamic with Rashford on the right is totally broken, he doesn’t find it. He is very good on the left at attacking space and I would see Harry (Kane) dropping and him attacking the space behind. But Grealish, for me, is tremendous and what he creates and his personality – ‘give me the ball’ – he reminds me a little bit of Luis Figo. I don’t like making comparisons, especially with a Golden Ball winner, but Grealish reminds me of my Figo. The way Grealish gets the ball and attacks people gets fouls gets penalties, he’s very powerful, I like him very much.”
❌ @JPickford1
❌ @MarcusRashford
❌ @Sterling7
✅ @DeanHenderson
✅ @BellinghamJudeJosé Mourinho picks his England starting XI for the first game of #EURO2020 .
Some big calls in this selection 👀
Do you agree? pic.twitter.com/5bKcnDhfaV
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) June 11, 2021
Interestingly Mourinho picked just one player from United’s starting XI, and that player is Dean Henderson. He has picked him ahead of Pickford.
We will obviously agree with him on Henderson’s selection.
