England Euro 2024 leaked squad: James Maddison and Curtis Jones dropped from final 26-man squad

Tottenham Hotspur star James Maddison and Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones have both been dropped from Gareth Southgate’s final England squad for Euro 2024.

The pair were initially included in England’s provision 33-man squad ahead of the tournament in Germany as Maddison picked up his seventh cap from the subs bench during a comfortable 3-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina at St James’ Park.

The former Leicester City ace was a member of the England squad which reached the quarter-final of the 2022 World Cup, although he did not play a single minute of football during the tournament in Qatar.

Jones, on the other hand, is still waiting for his senior England debut, but was among the star performers for the U21’s last summer as they became European Champions at the tournament in Romania.

Maddison joined Tottenham in a £40m move from relegated Leicester City last summer and made an exceptional start to life in North London as he was awarded the August Player of the Month award. However, in the second half of the campaign his performances levels dropped off slightly due to injuries, although he still finished the season with a commendable four goals and nine assists as Spurs secured Europa League qualification in fifth place.

Maddison is an exciting talent, blessed with creativity, who has been around England set-up since 2019. However, Southgate has never really found a home for the star in his first team plans and the Three Lions boss remains undecided on whether it is best to use him in a central role or out on the wing.

The midfielder pair are the first of seven players to experience the heartbreak of being axed from Southgate’s final 26-man England squad ahead of the key announcement on Saturday 8 June.

The remaining 31 players will be handed one final chance to impress in a pre-tournament warm-up friendly against England’s Euro 2016 foes Iceland at Wembley Stadium.

England kick-off Euro 2024 against Serbia on Sunday 16 June and you can keep tabs on all the key fixtures and dates throughout the tournament through National World’s Euro 2024 Wall Chart.