Southgate’s provisional Euro 2024 squad is set to be decimated by late arrivals

Gareth Southgate is set to name a provisional Euro 2024 squad of 30-plus players with his pre-tournament plans to be decimated by late arrivals.

The England head coach could be without as many as 13 players for the start of his team’s training camp and first warm-up game against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 3 at St James’ Park.

Southgate will give his players as close to a week off as possible after their final game of the season, meaning Manchester United and Manchester City stars will definitely miss the start of the training camp given their involvement in the FA Cup final on May 25.

Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and – potentially – Jadon Sancho and Eric Dier could also be unavailable for the opening days due to their possible participation in the Champions League final on June 1.

If Aston Villa reach the Europa Conference League final on May 29, Ollie Watkins and Ezri Konsa – who are both hopeful of being included in Southgate’s squad – will also miss the start of England’s tournament preparations.

Southgate will name his squad on May 21, two days after the Premier League ends but he is now expected to name an extended party due to the unavailability of potentially half of his final squad before reducing the number.

It is likely that UEFA will allow nations to select 26 players, rather than the traditional figure of 23.

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