Uefa has banned families visiting players at their training camps during the European Championships.
In order to stave off boredom, England manager Gareth Southgate had hoped that players would be able to see friends and family members at their main St George’s Park training base, but Uefa’s strict Covid bubble rules now forbid it.
“We’re not going to be able to let people in,” Southgate said. “There’s a clear edict from UEFA on what the bubbles need to look like to be as secure as we can make them, it’s never going to be 100% failsafe but we’ve got to comply with as much as we can.”
Outside a tournament bubble – let alone a Covid one – the intensity tends to increase as a major international tournament progresses, but inside it can be a different atmosphere. Southgate and his coaches will strive to create a calm environment, but that can, consequently, become mundane for players.
“We’re hoping that we might at some point be able to let the players have a little bit of time at home,” Southgate said. “But that’s constantly being assessed. It’d be a preference for us if we can.”
That, however, will depend on the country’s Covid status come June and July. “We’ve got to monitor not only our own situations, but where we are as a country, what are the variants, what the government guidelines are,” the England manager added.
“So that we hope to do that and we’re working towards that, but it is going to be limited access which we have to accept is going to be harder for some players to cope with than for others. You know everybody’s going to react to that and respond to that differently.”
Southgate, meanwhile, is convinced Harry Kane’s prospective transfer from Tottenham Hotspur – after the striker and England captain announced his intention to leave – will not cause a distraction.
“I don’t feel I need to talk to Harry Kane regarding focus or professionalism,” Southgate said. “He has one goal with us and that’s to win the European Championships. He knows how important that is at this moment in time. What’s happening at his club is a matter for him and Tottenham. He’s made some statements in the last few days.
“It’s very unlikely that transfer deals will be done while we are away. It’s different when we meet up in September and I’m very realistic that you can’t stop phones ringing, but most deals will be done at the end of the tournament or in the first week before it starts. I would expect most deals in terms of our players to be done after the tournament.”
Southgate: Alexander-Arnold can play in midfield
Southgate believes Trent Alexander-Arnold could play in central midfield, after naming the Liverpool full-back in his 33-player provisional England squad for the European Championships.
The England manager has kept his options open by deciding to list a larger group of players who will be whittled down to 26 by Uefa’s deadline next Tuesday.
Alexander-Arnold was left out of the last England squad, with Southgate opting for Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier and Reece James as his three right-back options and it has been a point of fierce debate.
Southgate will assess the situation after his squad’s Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea players play their final game of the season, in the Europa League and Champions League finals.
“There is no doubt he could [play in midfield],” Southgate said. “Of course the difficulty he is hasn’t had the opportunity to do that since he was a younger player and that’s where he came through in Liverpool’s academy.
“He’s a fantastic passer of the ball and he has great passing vision. So he’s a playmaker from right-back, that’s kind of what he is. So why wouldn’t that lend itself at some point of his career to being in midfield?”
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from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3bWjVvs
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