Forget Mainoo; Elliott is the young midfielder Southgate should call upon

The England squad is always a divisive topic.  

At international level, managers will sometimes overlook form players and instead rely on players they trust. So you get players who have barely kicked a ball at club level getting into the squad at the expense of someone playing the best football of their career.  

On one hand, it is easy to understand why this happens. For example, Gareth Southgate doesn’t get a lot of time with the England players and his system might not always get the best out of form players and having to switch things up for them can have a negative impact on others. The former Boro boss has a clear plan in mind and knows what players and personalities he needs for this to be a success.  

As a fan, however, it can be frustrating to see talent being ignored while the national team struggles in a game they should be winning. It is all about balance though. And if England are successful, the manager’s decisions are vindicated.  

Sometimes, though, decisions cannot be justified. During this international break, Southgate’s decision to call up Kobbie Mainoo has been a talking point.  

The Manchester United midfield has impressed this term having made his debut for the Red Devils earlier in the season. The 18-year-old put in an eye-catching display in the FA Cup victory over Liverpool prior to the international break and though there had been calls for him to be included in the England squad, few expected Southgate to put his faith in the 18-year-old, especially when he’s usually so careful with his squad selections.  

Mainoo is in form and he’s got a mature style of play for someone his age. His performances should be praised but seeing him leapfrog others into Southgate’s plans feels extremely premature.  

He has just 20 appearances to his name across all competitions and he’s racked up a little over 1,100 Premier League minutes. He doesn’t have the experience or the know-how.  

The decision to draft Mainoo in seems even more bizarre when you see Harvey Elliott was once again overlooked, despite the many injuries plaguing the England squad.  

The Three Lions were without Bukayo Saka while Anthony Gordon was only just back from a knock. Southgate had the likes of Jarrod Bowen, Marcus Rashford, Ivan Toney and James Maddison on the bench against Brazil, so he had options, but if you’re using this game as an opportunity to reward fine form, which is the case with Mainoo, why wasn’t Elliott in there 

The 20-year-old has really stepped up for Liverpool over recent weeks with the Reds having to deal with a number of injuries across midfield and attack. The former Fulham youngster has filled in for Dominik Szoboszlai in midfield and Mohamed Salah in attack. He hasn’t just done a job for Jurgen Klopp’s side though. Elliott has put in performances that should, in all honesty, see him retain a place in the starting XI, even when everyone is back fit.  

He’s in really good form too having been involved in six goals in his last six outings. The versatile youngster has been chipping in with goals - he scored against Manchester United and Luton - while also registering assists. Elliott actually finished the 5-1 win over Sparta Prague in the Europa League with three assists.   

The left-footed maestro might not be the goal threat that a Rashford or a Bowen is and there’s an argument to be made that he might not be as creative as Maddison, but Elliott can play a variety of roles to a high level. Southgate likes fluidity to his system and the Liverpool No.19 allows for that, so why not take a closer look at him during this international break with so many key attackers ruled out with injury? It would’ve been the ideal time with Saka and Trent Alexander-Arnold - key creative players on the right side - both missing.  

Elliott scored twice for the England Under-21s on Friday, extending his fine goalscoring run with Lee Carsley’s team. At some point, it is going to be impossible for Southgate to ignore him.  

Mainoo is a completely different profile to Elliott and it shouldn’t have been a case of either or during this international break but to overlook the Liverpool man when he’s arguably more deserving of a place in the team is, to put it bluntly, inexcusable.