England manager Gareth Southgate has explained the decision to pick Conor Gallagher for the World Cup in Qatar.
The Blues graduate had a tremendous loan stint at Crystal Palace last season and he is now a regular under manager Graham Potter.
His performances have been largely inconsistent, but Southgate still opted to select him over the experienced James Ward-Prowse.
In an exclusive interview on England’s Twitter account, Southgate said that Gallagher is particularly fantastic at pressing the ball.
He said: “He’s fantastic at pressing the ball and I think there are going to be moments in these games where we need certain attributes.”
Aside from Gallagher, teammate Mason Mount has also made the 26-man cut. There were no surprises over his inclusion in the squad.
Reece James was also expected to travel to Qatar with the Three Lions until he picked up a knee injury against AC Milan last month.
Southgate made it clear that he did not want to pick the right wing-back, who is unlikely to be fit until the beginning of December.
