England stars must ignore transfer talk, says Gareth Southgate

Gareth Southgate has told England’s players not to spend their summer worrying about possible transfers.

Seven of Southgate’s charges - captain Harry Kane, Declan Rice, Kyle Walker, Harry Maguire, Conor Gallagher, James Maddison and Kalvin Phillips – have uncertain futures and could move this summer.

But while Southgate is sure England will not lose their focus on their Euro 2024 qualifier against North Macedonia at Old Trafford on Monday, the manager believes it would be counter-productive for them to waste time over the forthcoming weeks fixating on things that are out of their control.

Southgate drew on his own experiences as a player, when he hoped to leave Aston Villa in 2000 and eventually joined Middlesbrough a year later, to argue that they need to keep calm.

He said: “What I have said is these things run their course, they happen in their own time, you can’t force it as a player. Don’t get frustrated, don’t be asking all summer. You don’t need to be updated on every call that happens.

“A lot of negotiation goes on. I remember as a player getting too wrapped up in every detail of that. In the end, there is only a small amount that you can actually control. I think all of those things will happen later on in the summer and I think the players understand that.

“They know the focus for the next 36 hours is this game, finishing the season well, making sure we’re set on 12 points and we will be in a very healthy position if we do that.”

Southgate faces a selection dilemma on Monday with Marcus Rashford fit again and Manchester City’s five Champions League winners all in contention to start after none began Friday’s 4-0 win over Malta.

He added: “There are some very talented players and important players for us so it is difficult to name a team. We have some depth and players who have all trained well. They are all presenting well, they are all available for the game.”