Paul Merson believes Jack Grealish's omission from England's squad for Euro 2024 was not down to his performances for Manchester City.

Despite regularly featuring for England, Grealish was left out of the 26-man squad, with Gareth Southgate making some surprise decisions ahead of the tournament. A mix of injuries and competition for places limited the City star to 20 league appearances this term, which may have cost him his England spot.

Southgate had a wealth of other attacking options to choose from, including Eberechi Eze and Jarrod Bowen, who both played in England's lacklustre performance against Denmark. Meanwhile, Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer have not yet made it off the bench and Merson is certain that Grealish would have responded differently to being sidelined by Southgate.

"That's why [Gordon and Palmer are] there and Jack Grealish is not there," Merson stated on his Football's Greatest podcast. "Because Jack would be, I imagine Jack would be going mad now."

"I can't imagine Gordon and Palmer saying anything. I just imagine them sitting there, thinking to themselves, 'Well, maybe I should be getting on.' I don't see them saying anything to him. I can see a Jack Grealish going to Gareth and going, 'Why am I not playing?"

Merson criticised his ex-England teammate Southgate's game plan against Denmark, particularly his decision to introduce Eze, Bowen, and Ollie Watkins in a triple substitution. With Grealish no longer an option for the Three Lions, Sky Sports pundit Merson expressed his confusion over England's struggle to get their forwards involved and cast doubt on Bowen's ability to change a game, despite his impressive goal tally for West Ham.

However, Merson did see potential in Watkins' performance off the bench. The former Arsenal midfielder has suggested that Southgate should adopt a front two against Slovenia on Tuesday, hoping it could revitalise England's aspirations of winning the tournament.

"There's horses for courses. You've got to put Palmer on. He scored 20 goals this season. You know, he can play with that bit of flair. Eze gets on, he doesn't touch the ball, hardly."

"There's no plan," Merson added. "I would play Watkins but I'd have to keep Kane in the team, I'd have to find a way. You've got to keep world-class players on the football pitch."