Snubbing Reece James for the summer's European Champions in favour of Trent Alexander-Arnold could be a detrimental move for England boss Gareth Southgate, according to Paul Merson.
The former England international held nothing back when assessing the selection of Southgate's Three Lions provisional squad. Amongst a swathe of notable exclusions, including forward Marcus Rashford, the pundit was "really shocked" to see the Chelsea captain omitted from the 33-player training squad ahead of the summer.
Southgate will cull his selection significantly to make the 26-player limit, though the three right-backs selected – Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier and Alexander-Arnold – are expected to still be included.
The Manchester City skipper is the obvious first-choice selection, while Trippier and Alexander-Arnold offer Southgate versatile options elsewhere.
But Merson is not convinced that snubbing James for Alexander-Arnold was the correct move, claiming that the Liverpool full-back can be a liability defensively on the international stage.
Speaking on Sky Sports, the Arsenal legend said: "I’m not sure about Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back, I’m not. I think he’s a talented player, his range of passing is second to none. I think he’s the best passer in the whole of the country but I don’t think he’s a defender at international level."
James' most recent campaign has been blighted by consistent hamstring problems and two red cards, limiting him to just 10 appearances, six of them starts. The 24-year-old has not appeared for England since March 2023, having previously won 16 caps and helped England reach the Euro 2020 final.
Even so, Merson maintained that James' versatility outweighed the potential encumbrance Alexander-Arnold's defensive shortcomings would bring.
"I think [James] is one of the best in the business. I know he’s had a long injury but [Luke] Shaw’s been out a long time. I’m quite shocked. Kyle Walker plays at right-back but if you bring Reece James as well it opens it up into playing a three at the back sometimes. You might want to play three at the back against better teams.
"Reece James is one of the best wingbacks about. And then if he goes to right-back, you can put Walker into centre-half and then we might have to chase a game against someone, you’ve got Walker’s pace at the back."
Southgate must whittle his squad down to 26 players by 7 June. Other right-back options in his squad include Liverpool's Joe Gomez who has played across the backline under now-departed Jurgen Klopp. Aston Villa's Ezri Konza also has experience in the position.
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