Paul Scholes claims Man Utd star should be in England squad above Jack Grealish

Paul Scholes has said Jadon Sancho deserves to be in the England squad above Jack Grealish, based on current form.

The latter was named in Gareth Southgate’s 28-man roster on Thursday, while Sancho and fellow Manchester United team-mate Marcus Rashford were excluded.

It’s been seen as a controversial decision by many, with the likes of Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Grealish retaining their places despite slow starts to the season.

Grealish put in an underwhelming display again on Wednesday as Manchester City beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the Champions League, and was replaced in the second half.

In contrast, Sancho scored and played well as United beat Sheriff Tiraspol 2-0 the following day.

Asked on BT Sport whether it was harsh to exclude the United No.25 from the England squad, Scholes responded: “Yeah I think so. Gareth has picked his players for a reason, possibly from previous squads but I think he deserves to be in probably above Jack Grealish at the minute.

“He’s scored a really good goal against Liverpool, showing really good signs tonight. He doesn’t have that electrifying pace to go past someone down the outside or on the inside. When he was good at Dortmund he had [Erling] Haaland to link with - [Achraf] Hakimi was always on the overlap.

“If he can do that with Manchester United, can find a [Bruno] Fernandes or [Christian] Eriksen, really clever players to deal with, he could be a good player for United.”

Also speaking on BT Sport’s post-match coverage of the United game, Owen Hargreaves opined Sancho is better when he comes inside and links with creative players.

“I think they signed Jadon as a winger but he wants to come inside and link up with Bruno [Fernandes] and [Christian] Eriksen,” said the former Bayern Munich and United midfielder.

“Now with Eriksen in the side they have more possession. Coming inside and linking, that’s what he’s exceptionally good at.”