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England interim boss Lee Carsley has admitted Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers was close to his first call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.
Carsley has not named Rogers in his squad for the upcoming Nations League matches, despite his brilliant form for Villa so far this season. The 22-year-old has been a key figure in Unai Emery’s side as Villa have made a strong start in both the Premier League and Champions League.
Carsley was at Villa Park on Wednesday night as Villa beat Bayern Munich 1-0 in the Champions League and has named Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins in his latest England squad. Asked how close Rogers was to being picked, Carsley said: “Yeah, there’s a lot of players that were close to being in this squad.
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“The talent that we have got available for us, it would have been quite easy to name a 40-man squad and almost justify having them all in. But the challenge is making sure that we pick a competitive squad and a squad where I think we can win the two games.”
Rogers has been named in England’s Under-21s squad once again after missing out on the senior squad which will likely anger Emery, who publicly criticised the decision to pick him for the Under-21s earlier this season.
"What does he gain by playing in the U21s, Morgan Rogers? He is ready in case they want to call him for the national team, I can understand,” he said. "My response to it, my question is, Morgan Rogers, now he is a reality. The first six months he was here, was OK, but now he is confirming it – not to play in the Under-21s. If they are calling him in the national team, the first team, OK perfect. If not, why?
"What is a player like Morgan Rogers gaining by playing for the U21s? I am surprised. I respect that they are not calling him for the first team, but the second team? He is not a player for the second team.”