Gareth Southgate has suggested Wayne Rooney’s status as England captain is not under threat despite him being dropped by Manchester United and has left the door open for Marcus Rashford to play at the European Under-21 Championship next summer.
Rooney has not started any of United’s past four Premier League games. He missed the 4-0 defeat at Chelsea on Sunday through injury and was left out of Southgate’s starting XI for the World Cup qualifying draw in Slovenia this month.
England face a home World Cup qualifier against Scotland on 11 November before playing Spain in a friendly four days later at Wembley but Southgate, the interim manager whose four-match contract to replace Sam Allardyce expires after the Spain match, has hinted the record goalscorer will be a part of his squad.
“He’s the England captain and although he didn’t start in Slovenia, to me he is a hugely influential person in that group and that won’t change,” Southgate said.
“Let’s see what that scenario is but I thought his leadership qualities in the 10 days with us shone through. I hadn’t been able to see that first hand and it was hugely impressive. I could see how he’s held in the eyes of the rest of the players and the positive influence he has in that environment. If that wasn’t the case I wouldn’t say those things. That’s as it was.
“I haven’t spoken to him since the camp but I’m always conscious players are back into a run of fixtures with their clubs, but I will pick up with him and the others later.”
Rooney has scored just four times in his last 32 appearances for United and England, although the 31-year-old has often featured in a deeper midfield role. He was brought on as a substitute against Slovenia but could not help Southgate’s side find the breakthrough in a dour 0-0 draw.
After being left out of Allardyce’s first and only England squad for the qualifier against Slovakia in Trnava, Rooney’s United team-mate Rashford came on as a substitute for Daniel Sturridge in Ljubljana. He turns 19 on Monday and would be eligible to play for England at the European Under-21 Championship next summer although United’s manager, José Mourinho, said last week that would make “no sense” if he is already established as a regular for the senior side.
“It’s always a case of what’s right for the individual player,” Southgate said. “That’s why you can’t make decisions on players at this stage of the season. You have an idea what you think is the ideal pathway for an international young player but you have to bear in mind the season they have and where they are in terms of being involved in the senior team.
“It’s a scenario we went through two years ago but there is a point where young players are still viewed as being part of the development teams. There’s also a point where we have to decide if they are still in development teams and is that going to benefit them or have they moved through it? As we have seen in the last couple of months Marcus is between the two. We have to wait and see what it looks like as we move forward. Everything I have seen José say is perfectly reasonable.”
Southampton’s Charlie Austin and the Leicester City defender Danny Simpson are among those being tipped for a call‑up next month, and Southgate, who was talking during a visit to Sheffield for the Football Association’s new Parklife scheme which is launched on Wednesday, admitted he was approaching the two matches with an open mind.
“We have a pool of English-eligible players and we have to make sure we’re up to speed on all of them, how they are playing, form and long-term potential as well,” he said. “That’s how we viewed it with the under-21s and the seniors are no different. You are always balancing those ideas in your mind.”